Happy Birthday, Lily
by Pilargirl
Summary: "She won't deny that up until fourth year, she never saw him as anything other than her favourite family member; something like a cousin maybe, but a lot closer, something like a brother but, then again, not quite." NEXT-GEN Fic. Teddy/Lily. Harry/Ginny. 9-Chapter Fic from 2025 to 2033 that centeres on Lily and Teddy's Relationship every 24th of December.
1. 1: 2025

_**A** /N: Okay. Hello Guys. For those of you who already know me, thanks for checking out my new story! For those of you who don't, I hope you enjoy it and if you do, I just finished a Harry/Ginny story you might enjoy "The Commoner Queen". _

_So, on to this. Happy Birthday Lily is an 8-chapter fic that takes place from 2025 to 2032, always on the 24th December, which happens to be the day before Lily Luna Potter's birthday (at least in my world, since I'm sure J.K. Rowling will prove me wrong soon). Anyway, so this centres on an uncommon next-gen ship that I happen to love: Teddy/Lily. Yes, I know some of you think it's sick: you're very welcome to leave. But I would ask everyone to give it a chance. This started off in june 2012, so I've thought about it an awful lot and I have enjoyed writing it. There will be weekly updates and I do hope you guys like it. So, please, enjoy._

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 **Happy Birthday, Lily**

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 **24th December 2025**

She won't lie. She knows many people wouldn't understand but she still doesn't see the point in lying. She won't deny that up until fourth year, she never saw him as anything other than her favourite family member; something like a cousin maybe, but a lot closer, something like a brother but, then again, not quite.

In the first memory Lily Luna Potter has of Edward (Teddy) Remus Lupin, his hair is black and messy and he's only about 14, standing next to her dad and helping Albus ride his toy broomstick; the three of them look like they could be clones, just at different ages; however, Teddy hasn't changed his eyes, they remain an unnameable dark twinkling colour that he never ever changes because, according to everyone, they are exactly the same as his mother's always were.

Teddy (she refuses to call him Ted, or even worse, Edward…That's just not him) was the only one who defended her when her brothers made her mad, and he's the only one who would never leave her out because she was a girl. Hers was the first name on Teddy's lips when he entered Potter Manor, and he was the only one to have ever told her with sincerity that, even though she seems to have followed her mother's footsteps in every way, she isn't her mother, and she isn't Lily Evans Potter either, no matter how much people say they look alike... She's Lily Luna Potter, and she's unique.

And the funny thing, is that those are the reasons that Lily has always favoured Teddy over everyone who surrounds her, but they are also the reasons that explain why it is that Teddy ruffles her hair when he sees her, and hugs her like she's still 9, or kisses her on the cheek without it meaning anything. Those are the reasons that explain why it is that, even though Lily's heart has raced for Teddy since she turned fourteen, Teddy will always just see her as the little baby who awaited at home while he was off to Hogwarts.

"It's a tough choice," the man in question voices out as he comes into the porch of Potter Manor and waves his wand, muttering a quick warming spell. "But freezing your arse off in the December chill isn't going to make it any easier."

Lily turns to look at him and can't help but think about how gorgeous he looks. Never have a pair of jeans and a Weasley Jumper looked so good on anyone, and it helps that he's himself right now, with his father's nose and sandy hair and his mother's eyes shining with the lights coming from inside, where everyone's celebrating Christmas Eve.

"It was just getting to be a bit too much in there. I love every single one of them but, Merlin, how many of them _are_ there? I don't even know how we fit so many people in the living room," is Lilly's answer.

Teddy smirks and steps a little closer to her. Lily looks down at what she's wearing and she wonders how it's possible for him to still see her as a baby when she's wearing this dress. Granted, she'll always be on the short side, and she'll always be a little more curvy than those stick witches and, of course, she accepted long ago she would never be able to compete with girls like Dominique or Victoire (after all, they have Veela blood in them) but she doesn't look like a baby today, she hasn't looked anything like a baby for a while now.

"You and Lorcan look a little..." Teddy starts, not finding the right word.

"Like we'd rather not be seeing each other's faces right now?" she offers. Teddy nods.

"Is it because...?" He leaves the sentence unfinished again, but then he continues. "I mean, Hugo mentioned something before and I didn't know if it was..."

"He's leaving for a four year investigation expedition once we finish Hogwarts, and he asked me to go with him..." Lily explains as she walks closer to the door and sits on the porch swing that her dad had set up back when her mother was pregnant with James. Teddy sits beside her.

"What about your options? Doesn't he realize you haven't made your mind up yet?" The Metamorphmagus asks.

The red-head bites her lip. "He says I could start taking a healing course in the afternoons up until the end of school and then, on the expedition, I could focus on researching and finding healing plants and new remedies that I could use to focus my training on potion making when I come back."

Finally, Teddy comes out and says what he's been wanting to say since she had first started speaking. "So, you're going to ditch the Harpies offer?"

Lily smiles at him. "And Puddlemere's and Falmouth's and the Cannons...But don't you dare let Uncle Ron know that."

Teddy goes wide-eyed. "They all want you as their seeker?"

The red-head hits him playfully. "Why the tone of surprise, Teddy-bear? You know I can even beat my dad now..."

"Harry's getting old, Lils, it hardly count...No, but seriously, Lily, I know we had talked what a wonderful year it was for seeker try outs but, everyone wanting you? It's beyond amazing, it must be some kind of record."

They both laugh for a second, listening to the music coming from inside.

"So, Lorcan doesnt want you to play Quidditch?" Teddy continued. "I'd kill for my girlfriend to be a Quidditch player...Free tickets all year long."

"You know the Scamanders don't like Quidditch...they love flying beasts but, flying people? Not so much...Either way, Lorcan doesn't know about the offers; I've only told you."

Teddy's jaw drops slightly. "Not even Harry and Ginny?"

Lily raises her eyebrows. "Mum and Dad? Yeah, right, like I want to get into that... They'll both say I have to do what I'll love the most, but then Mum will start dropping hints about how amazingly fantastic being a Quidditch player was for her and, Dad, in fear of me hurting myself while I play Quidditch with guys twice my size, will start leaving healing pamphlets on top of my bed by accident. They're just going to make this harder."

Teddy sighs and continues with a slightly defeated tone. "So maybe going on the expedition is your best option, maybe only for a year, though, to give you a little more time to weigh your options. If so many teams are interested now, I'm sure they'll still be interested in a year. The only problem might be telling your dad you're going to be sharing a tent with Lorcan for a whole year...Harry's great, but you know what he's like when it comes to you and boys."

"That's the funny bit," Lily suddenly speaks up. "When I mentioned that small factor to Lorc he...Well, he...He got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife."

The seventeen-year-old swears she hears Teddy's breath hitch and she has to remind him to breathe.

"Merlin, breathe, Teddy-bear, don't worry...The only answer he got from me were some gorgeous big fat bats coming out of his nose," she assures him. "I'm not crazy; Im not getting married right out of school like crazy Albus, and definitely not to Lorcan."

Now Teddy looks confused. "I thought you and Lorcan were serious...I thought you were thinking about having a future with him..."

Lily shakes her head. "Teddy, I…The way I feel about Lorcan is complicated. We've literally grown up together…I swear every single thing I did as a kid: walk, talk, tie my shoelaces…He's there in every photo with me. I really do adore him to bits and I can't imagine my life without him but, I couldn't share my whole life with him either. I'd feel like I missed out. Sometimes it just ends up feeling like we work because we're so used to working and being pushed together, not because we love or understand each other. In fact, I think, most of the time, we don't understand each other at all," she explains.

"It might not be my business saying it," she continues warily. "But I've always thought it might've been similar to what you had with Victoire...Isn't that the reason the two of you broke off the engagement?"

Teddy laughs. "Yeah...well, that, and... you know the night we broke up, when she told me she had kissed Dexter? All I could remember is the way your dad reacted when Ginny told him that that sneaky Italian Quidditch star tried to put his hands on her at an interview and just how mad he was that someone else had tried to touch his girl. I didn't feel anything like that, Lils...I just felt...relieved, I think..." he guesses.

Teddy looks at her and smiles in an idealistic way. "That's when I knew I wanted something like what your mum and dad have. I don't want to be the Auror who comes home to the housewife who's content just looking after the house and the kids and who is as calm and as peaceful as I usually am...I want to be with someone who puts herself before being a wife and a mother and who is like a storm, who can break me out of my shell every once in a while. I know I didn't know them, but from what I've heard, what I would want is someone who was as driven and passionate as my mother was." Teddy smiles, trying to lighten the mood. "Besides, it worked out for the best, Victoire and Dex really were meant for each other, I was just standing in the way...I think little Billy proves that. They're all perfectly happy,"

Lily laughed. "And then there's us. The undecided Gryffindor and the lonely Hufflepuff..." She says.

Teddy fakes an offended look and she laughs, wrapping her arm around him. "But don't you worry, I'll always be here to make sure you know you're never alone."

Teddy smiles too and wraps his arm around her. "And I'll always be here so you can tell me about your crazy life and I can help you sort out through your indecisions."

They both share a chuckle and Lily looks up at Teddy to find him looking down at her. Their proximity hasn't become obvious until that moment, when their faces are only a few inches apart. A strange silence falls upon them as they look at each other, suddenly the atmosphere seems a lot warmer, as their thick coats brush against one another and their eyes remain fixed.

Teddy's the one to finally break the moment, shaking his head and standing up quickly, giving Lily a hand so she can get up too.

"We should get moving, it's going to strike twelve soon and everyone's going to be looking for you..."

Lily cant' help the girlish giggle that escapes her mouth.

"I have to admit always having the family here for my birthday is pretty cool...my dad always says that I'm..."

"...the best Christmas present he will ever get," the both speak in unison. They're both standing in front of the door now, Teddy with his back to it and Lily standing opposite him. For a few seconds they stand in silence again until Teddy, without Lily quite understanding why, tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and his touch is suddenly nothing like what she's used to, she never allows herself to read into anything he does or says but, there's something different there.

And then Teddy looks at her, really looks at her... The way the black dress is so tight at the top, showing all her curves and then falls freely from her waist to mid-thigh, where her short legs somehow look long and the fact that they're so white is nothing short of beautiful.

"You look gorgeous tonight, Lils," Teddy tells her without moving his hand away from her red hair, which contrasts so amazingly with the dark dress. And Teddy doesn't know what the hell he's doing because he knows that this is Lily, that this is basically his little sister and she's only seventeen (even if she will be turning eighteen in a second) and he should feel like such a pervert but, he doesn't. He lets himself think what he never lets himself think. He lets in the thoughts that have come and gone briefly in the last two years, he allows himself to admit that no one understands him quite like she does, that no one can make him smile as much, that no one can make him care in the way he cares about her. He lets it all in during a single moment, knowing he'll push it all away just as quick as it came.

But he just feels like it would be a crime not to kiss her when she's looking up at him with those big brown eyes and that longing that he'd forced himself to ignore; so he doesn't think and he leans down and does it, he places his lips softly over hers.

Their lips have barely even touched when one of them gives the other a small electric shock that makes them both jump backwards. None of them even takes the time to think about how weird it is for this to happen right at this moment, they are both too consumed thinking about the kiss (if you can even call it a kiss) they've both shared.

"I...I...Merlin, Lily, I'm so sorry I don't...I don't know what happened to me, I was...I'm just going to..."

The clock strikes midnight and they both turn to look inside, where the old clock is chiming and the happy birthday to you Muggle song that the clock has always made on these especial days, makes its way to their ears.

"Happy 18th, Lily," Teddy says quickly and, before she can even say thank you, he's gone.

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 _A/N: And so there you go, for those who review: I tend to reply and send a small preview of the next chapter. I happen to love tv promos so I know many people enjoy it. I do hope some of you will continue reading. For those of you who don't, thanks for giving it a chance any way! As always, any comment, of whatever kind, is greatly appreaciated._


	2. 2: 2026

**24th December 2026**

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"Under no circumstances will you be going anywhere that isn't downstairs, Lily," Harry's low but angry voice sounds through the room his daughter has inhabited since she was born. It's still painted in the same yellow and blue pattern that it had been back when it was a nursery, but the walls have been covered by multiple posters, photos and words that Lily herself painted on them when she was feeling creative.

"I'm turning nineteen in less than half-an-hour, Dad; I'm sorry, but you don't get a say in where I do or don't go," the red-head tries to reason with her father. After all, it's her life... She understands that he cares and worries about her, but this is her decision to make, not his.

Harry runs his fingers through his getting-greyer-by-the-minute-but-never-lacking messy hair. "Like hell I don't. I'm Harry freaking Potter; Head Auror, among other things, you won't be leaving this country any time soon if I have any say in it...And, trust me, Lily Luna, saving the world gives me plenty of say in these kinds of things."

Lily dares to send him a defiant look. "You don't pull that card; you¡ve forbidden everyone in this house from ever pulling that card."

Harry takes a few steps closer to his daughter. "I'd rather pull that card a thousand times than have to go to your funeral, Lily, you can be sure of that."

Lily gulps and takes a step back, looking through the window at the snowed back yard and then at the suitcase that rests in the corner of her room. "You fight as an Auror every day, Dad; you fight for us, for the rest of the world. You let Teddy become an Auror without a second thought, and I know you love him as much as you love James, Albus and me. But yet you can't understand that I also want to do the good you and Teddy do, just in my own way."

The older man sighs and tries a new way of approaching his little girl. He takes a hand to her face and caresses her cheek gently...She's still so small, to him she hasn't changed one bit since she was seven and couldn't sleep alone on stormy nights.

"I didn't let Teddy become an Auror just like that. Teddy had to do an extra year of training at the Auror Academy and I, myself, taught him to fight every single summer since he decided he wanted that future. After me, Teddy is the most qualified Auror we have and it's because I had to make sure he was more than ready to face the dangers, because I couldn't bear to lose him because he wasn¡t good enough in a certain situation. But you, you are being careless, and, what's worst, you want to do it completely on your own."

"I'm good with a wand, Dad; maybe not as good as I am on a broomstick, but I can protect myself enough to be safe..." She tries. "Besides, I won't be facing dangers... okay, it is a country at war but it's a Muggle war! I _will_ be okay!"

Before Harry can say anything else, Ginny comes in carrying little Anna in her arms.

"You woke her up," Ginny sends a glare at her husband. "I thought we'd agreed you'd leave this for after the holidays."

Harry starts to answer back but Ginny shuts him up by looking at the baby in her arms and indicating for Harry to take her.

"I'm a little busy, Gin," Harry speaks, wanting to finish this discussion with his daughter (winning it, preferably).

Ginny, however, is having none of it. "Take you granddaughter, Harry."

Harry opens his mouth to protest, but Ginny shushes him with a smooth but strong "now!"

"I don't want you to leave either, Lily," the older red-head then says. "I understand that it is the perfect job for you, but I can't quite accept that your dad and I gave up our childhood fighting a war so you could do just the same."

Lily opens her mouth to speak but, just as she had done with her husband, Ginny doesn't let her.

"And it feels horrible to think that, maybe, part of the reason you¡re doing this is because you think that, by taking one of the offers the league has given you, you're following my footsteps; but I think I know that this is about a lot more than Quidditch or following anyone's footsteps... I think I know that this is what you need right now and that is why, no matter what your dad says, you're allowed to leave when you want, you just have to promise us you'll be careful all the time."

Lily looks at her father, who is positively fuming, but who she knows will not say a word that will contradict what her mother says.

"What if he uses his influences to have me tracked or something," she says, eying her father.

" _He_ has a name, you know?" The he in question speaks quietly, trying to let the little girl in his arms, who has inherited her fathers and grandfathers green eyes, fall asleep again.

"Dad won't stop you from doing this," Ginny assures Lily. "I can't promise he won't check up on you an awful lot because he is your dad and I'll probably even ask him to do it a few times; but he'll let you do this; I swear to you he will."

Lily looks at her dad, waiting to be assured that that is the truth.

"I'm sorry," he says, handing the baby back to Ginny without accepting any argument from her part, something he very rarely does. "You mum's right, I won't interfere; but I'm not going to be okay with this... Ever. This is not right; this is not the way to do things, this is just the way a child acts when she's bored. This is not you acting like a grown up, Lily! This is you putting yourself in danger by being a selfish brat and...you're right, you're nineteen and I can't do anything about it, but I will let you know that this is not okay; this is very far from what I think is okay, and I won't discuss this with you until I can see you truly understand what you are doing. If to get there you need to spend a few days in the streets of Angola, be my guest..."

And with that he goes, leaving Ginny and Lily looking at each other. Lily walks towards her mother and leans her head on her shoulder, looking down at her beautiful niece.

"I hope Al never treats you like that, Anna, and if he does you can always count on me to help you get your way," Lily tells the 6-month-old baby, who offers her a small gurgle while she tries her hardest to grab a fistful of her godmother's hair.

Ginny bites her lip. "You have to understand him, Lily; he's given up so much for you to live in a safe world and now you just... I mean, it shouldn't really surprise us, you have got our genes, after all, but we both thought you'd just play Quidditch, we didn't think you'd go and do this."

The young woman shrugs. "I don't know what else to say, Mum. What does he want? For me to stay here, be a healer at Saint Mungos, get back with Lorcan, get married and have my second kid on the way when I'm barely 21? It works for Albus, Mum, and I have to admit that, for him, it's the perfect life; but not for me. If Dad can't understand that...I'm sorry."

And with that Lily leaves her room, looking at the clock that stands next to the staircase and announces that it will be her birthday in fifteen minutes. She sighs as she turns the corner and opens the door of the bathroom; what she isn't expecting, however, is to find Teddy looking at himself in the mirror and jumping once he realizes she's there.

Lily smirks. "Trying out some knew beauty spells, Teddy-bear?"

The twenty-eight-year-old rolls his eyes, and looks at her for a second without speaking.

"I wanted to speak to Harry about something, but when I was coming up I heard the shouting and thought I might just come in here until you both calmed down," he explains.

Lily nods. "Well, I don't recommend approaching him now. He's being his angry stubborn self once again."

"It's not like you can blame him, Lils," Teddy makes the mistake of saying. Lilys eyes narrow in a way that makes her look far too much like Ginny.

"Don't give me that look; what the hell did you expect? You suddenly announce over Christmas-eve Dinner with the whole family that you are moving to Angola in a week. Did you honestly think he was going to give you a sandwich for the journey? He made me train for seven years before letting me go on a single mission, and I'm not even his kid."

The red-head shakes her head as she leans against the door. "You're as good as," she honestly tells him. "But that's not the point. I'm not going to fight in the war, Teddy; I'm just going to play Quidditch while I help out at a nearby hospital...Don't you see how perfect this is for me? I'll be playing the sport I love more than anything, and learning to help people at the same time; it's the best of both worlds."

"Except for that fact that the world is dangerous, and I know you can handle yourself, but it still seems like such a risk..." Teddy, who is now sitting on the edge of the empty bath tub, states, "I get why you would want to do it, but I also get why Harry wouldn't want you to. In fact, _I_ don't want you to, but I know you're going to do it either way, so I also know there's no point fighting with you."

"Smart kid," she smiles as she sits next to him on the bathtub. She knows it's a bold move because they have both tried to keep their distances since last year, but she can't help it. She's not the same girl who Teddy kissed last year. Leaving Hogwarts, ending it with Lorcan, saying no to all those Quidditch teams and making the decision to move so far away has changed her and she likes the new her; the _new_ her, truly knows what she wants and doesn't let anyone stand in her way, the _new_ her has helped her understand why, when she told the sorting hat she'd be as happy as a Hufflepuff as she would be as a Gryffindor, it placed her in the house of the brave. "You don't come over very often anymore," she lets him know. "You were gone on that mission almost all of October and November and I didn't see you more than 5 times this summer."

"That's because you, dearest Lily, spent all summer with a certain Dylan Corner and were nowhere to be seen..."

Lily shakes head as she laughs. "That was just a well needed break from Lorcan mixed with the decision to not spend the summer alone."

"A break?" Teddy asks. "As in, not a break up, just a break?"

The red-head shrugs. "Not sure, really; but I don't really see myself being with him again, I mean, he's going to be gone four years either way, and, like I told you last year, we weren't working." Lily smiles. "But, enough about me, what about you? Any new girl roaming around..."

"Oh, Merlin, no! I've been too busy this year to even give girls a thought. I haven't even kissed a girl since..."

And then his face becomes a little darker, and so does his turquoise hair and Lily suddenly realized it must be because the last girl he kissed was her, exactly a year ago.

Lily tries to smile. "Well, you might want to get a move on, my sweet Teddy-bear, I'm afraid a year is a long time, and since I'm leaving I won't be able to assist this time around."

"Merlin, Lils," Teddy buries his head in his hands. He doesn't even know how he's talking about this with her. He's thought about that moment too many times since it happens, berating himself for it every single time. "You don't know how sorry I am about that".

Lily doesn't even need to force the laugh this time; his mortified look makes it easy. "Sorry about what, how bloody short the kiss was or the electric shock you gave me?"

Teddy goes wide-eyed. "You felt that too?" he asks.

She nods with a confused expression. "Course I did, It must have been the friction from the porch swing and the coats...we were both charged..."

Teddy nods slowly.

"But I never meant... I mean, I don't know what came over me, I wasn't even thinking, I..."

Lily smiles and places her soft hand his biceps, in a comforting way. "Teddy, it was Christmas...maybe it was some magic mistletoe that James planted on the porch. You really shouldn't even give that "kiss", if you can call it that, a second thought."

"Oh..." Teddy simple says, still slightly disconcerted.

"But," Lily speaks slightly too seductively for Teddy to be comfortable. She, herself, isn't sure if she looks sexy or ridiculous. "If you're so keen on thinking about my kisses, I might just give you one that's at least worth remembering."

And so, before he can even stop her, Lily leans into him and places her lips on his. He's shocked at the contact at first and his first reaction is to push her off, but then she moves her lips ever so slightly and her tongue asks for entrance and…He suddenly can't resist her, she feels so heavenly, so right.

He honestly thinks he might go crazy when her hand caresses the skin of his back, under his t-shirt.

Nevertheless, just as fast as it starts it's over and, suddenly, Lily's standing up and leaving the bathroom.

As her golden high heel goes out of view, the clock strikes midnight and they both turn towards the staircase that leads downstairs, where the old clock is chiming and the happy birthday to you Muggle song that the clock has always played on these especial days, makes its way to their ears

"Happy 19th, Lily," Teddy whispers, but this time she can't say thank you either, because she's already gone.

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 ** _So that's what "will" happen in 2026 hahaah_**

 ** _If anyone reviews (and please do! Cause I do love to hear what you thought about it), please remember to sign in so I can answer and send you a smal preview for the next chappie. Thanks for reading!_**


	3. 3: 2027

**24** **th** **December 2027**

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Someone's been following her.

She's used to people eying her up while she does her night shift at the _Koplen_ , but today two eyes have followed her around everywhere she's gone and, when she left, 5 minutes ago, someone walked outside and started following her same steps.

She's almost home now and she doesn't know what to do; should she take her wand out and attack the person who she knows is hiding behind the corner of Caxeti street? Or should she just head upstairs, reinforce the wards and forget that someone has been following her? She decides to continue walking and she's already on the second stair that leads to the front door of the apartment block when she simply can't help it, she takes out her wand and points it towards the dark figure.

He's a tall, big man, with barely any hair, whose face can't be seen except for a big nose. She notices he's a wizard because of his long dark robes and so she gets ready to disarm him. Her heart is beating hard in her chest, a thousand things start passing through her mind: her mum, her dad...

However, the man takes one step forward and the flashing Christmas lights that one of her neighbours has hung from their balcony illuminates his eyes. That's when she sees the unmistakable black twinkling orbs.

"Teddy-bear," she whispers, giving herself a second to think about how to react. She comes to a conclusion quickly, dropping her bag onto the grey sidewalk and running towards the boy, whose features all turn back to normal before she crashes into his arms and he wraps them around her, lifting her slightly off the floor.

They've never had such a dramatic welcome, but then again, they've never actually missed each other before, not the way they both have lately.

When they come apart, Lily can't help the single tear that makes its way down her face, revealing just how much she actually wanted to see a familiar face today. Teddy can't help but lift his hand up to her cheek and caress it softly, almost making sure that she's really there.

"I want to kill you, you know that, right?" Teddy tells her when he gets a good look into her eyes. She doesn't know what else to do except for nod and turn to point at her house.

"Do you maybe want to do it with a hot chocolate?" she asks, hoping he'll say yes. She knows it's unfair, but she really doesn't want to be alone tonight.

* * *

 **The** flat isn't anything out of the ordinary. A small, homey, living room is connected to the tiny kitchen and there are only two doors, one that leads to the bathroom and the other that leads to her bedroom.

Teddy looks around for a second and Lily walks past him.

"What would you rather, tea, chocolate or Butterbeer?" she asks, ready to make her way to the fridge. "You can leave your robes on the sofa, if you want."

Teddy shakes her head. "We're not staying."

Lily turns around, suddenly realizing he's not here not see her, to be with her, he's here to take her back.

"You're welcome to leave, Lupin," she spits at him with venom.

Teddy, however, is not giving up. "They're all at The Burrow, in silence, waiting for you to show up. Your niece wants to see that girl with red-hair who she only remembers from photos and Al can't quite believe you haven't bothered to meet his son. Your future sister-in-law wants to talk to you about being a bridesmaid at the wedding, while James can't help hearing out for your laugh every time he jokes that you always said he'd never get married."

"Teddy, stop," Lily begged, but he continued, getting angrier by the minute.

"Grandma Molly is crying her eyes out because she's scared she's going to have to have to store your jumper, just like she does with the one she makes for her dead son every year. Rosie and Dominique can't find a way to talk to each other without you to help them out and Hugo is lost, Lily, he doesn't know what to do at the family meetings without you.

"Teddy, Merlin, I'm begging you..." But still he doesn't listen.

"But, do you know what's worst? That your parents haven't shared a bed for months. Your mother refuses to even look Harry's way until he apologises to you, and Harry refuses to let you have your way because he's too scared to accept this and then have to accept that he let your get hurt. And I've been trying to track you down since October because you never even bothered to let anyone know about the fire at the old stadium and the fact that you moved to the other side of Angola so I couldn't bloody find you! And all I could think of today was that you probably died at the fire or at a bombing and then I see you working as a bloody waitress, with blokes ogling at you while you spend the night before your 20th birthday serving drinks to a bunch of pervs."

Lily gulps.

"I need to do a shift every once in a while so I can pay the rent...You know I don't get paid playing for the Proudsticks, and the hospital only pays me every once in a while...When they can."

"That's not the point..." Teddy makes clear.

Lily puts her hands on her hips and sends the 29-year-old a defiant look. "Don't pull this on me, Teddy. I did not want things to be this way! I went home for Easter and once I made it clear I would be coming back to Angola once the holidays were over, he didn't send another look my way, not even once! And I stuck my pride up my arse and went again in summer and he threw me out! He said I was dead to him!"

"You told him you'd be better off without a father! He's Harry Potter, someone who's lived all his life dreaming about having a family, and then you go and tell him that!" Teddy protests, defending his godfather. "And then, when he's going to stop being stubborn and come here looking for you, he sees you've changed your surname to Evans!"

Lily bites her lip angrily. "I did that for my own safety, not because I was mad at him! The red-hair and the surname Potter was getting too much attention. It's only for a while. And I wanted to let you know about the fire, but then my brother had a baby and no one even bothered to send me an owl."

"The owls come back without response!" Teddy shouts. "I must have sent you 40 or 50 and I've got them all back."

Lily looks down. "I got those... I just decided to send them back. It was a little too late by then."

The man with the natural sandy-hair stares at his god-sister in disbelief. "Those could've been important!"

"I don't bloody care if those were important! I had to read I had a nephew from a freaking magazine!" she shouted back at him.

"What difference does it even make, if you weren't going to come and see him either way?" Teddy says, a little calmer but with anger still decorating his tone.

Lily shakes her head. "I've seen my nephew twice, Teddy. Once I read he was born I took the first international Portkey I could and I spent the night in the nursery, just looking at him and at Anna. Then, a month later I took another Portkey and spent the day at the day-care with them, while Alice was getting a check-up at the hospital."

"You came to England without saying a word to anyone?" Teddy asked, unbelieving.

Lily threw her hands up in the air. "What part about having to read about my nephew's birth in a magazine do you not understand?"

Teddy didn't answer.

"Either way, I've gotten over that," Lily finally calmed down. "Just yesterday I sent an owl to everyone, telling them I'm alright and I miss them and that I'll be happy to see them if they ever want to come by."

"Harry too?" Teddy asks, almost accusing her already.

The red-head shakes her head angrily once again. "For Merlin's saggy-pants, Teddy! Dad made it clear he does not want to see me under any circumstances! You think I like being mad at him? You think I haven't had a bloody hard time thinking that this will be the first birthday in which he won't come to my bed with my horribly pink breakfast tray and bring me my birthday breakfast? You think this isn't hard on me too?"

Teddy shrugged. "So come, the next Portkey will be out in an hour, they'll be eating... You and Harry can sort this out."

Lily shakes her head, once again... It seems like it's all she can do right now. "I can't," she speaks with a broken voice. "I've already compromised enough, Teddy; he's my dad, and I owe him so much, but he has to meet me half-way."

"Do you know what I would give to be able to "compromise" at all if my dad was alive?" The man tells her with a voice filled with hurt and sadness. "Do you realize how incredible selfish you are being?"

"That's not fair, Teddy," Lily tells him like she has so many time before. "I know it bloody sucks, but you just can't compare one thing to the other!"

Teddy nodded. "Maybe you're right," he says. "But that still doesn't change that you're destroying the closest things I have to parents. I'm sure if you just say you're sorry..."

"He'll ask me to leave Angola..."

"So do it!" Teddy told her. "Isn't a year, enough? Is this place really that fantastic?"

Lily shook her head. "It isn't fantastic, of course it isn't fantastic; but it's my first real try at life, Teddy. It's the place where people come to me for help when they're hurting and then cheer me on while I fly because they know I only catch the snitch when it's interesting, not just to win the game, and because, when they see me at the bar, they ask me how I'm doing and tip me generously while they teach me how to speak Portuguese without any magical help."

Teddy sighs. "So, I came for nothing? You won't come back?

Lily gives him a sympathetic smile. "They'll have the letters, it won't be like the real thing, but they won't be sad. I promise I didn't forget anyone and I even tell Mum to say Happy Christmas to Dad in mine... there's even gifts."

Teddy gives her a small smile and decides he should probably forgive her. He is about to ask her if he can give her another hug when he realizes something.

"My mail is designed to come to me, wherever I am and immediately...I didn't get anything from you..."

Lily bites her lip again and looks down, embarrassed. She should've known this would end up happening.

"I didn't send you anything, Teddy...I told James to say Happy Christmas to you in his letter..."

Teddy doesn't understand.

"Are you meaning to tell me I've been looking for you for over a month, probably risking my promotion…That I'm not celebrating Christmas with my family so I could come here…And you didn't even bother to send me a bloody letter?" He can't help but stamp on the floor with fury. "Merlin's pants, Lily! I keep trying to not be angry and you but you make is so bloody hard. What the hell have I done? I sent you owls, I accepted your decision to come here, I even defended you to the only parent I've ever known, getting into a bloody fight with him and now it turns out I'm not even important enough to get my own letter for Christmas?"

"It's not about how important you are..." Lily tries to explain.

"Then what in the name of magic is it about, Lily, because I clearly don't understand..."

And that's when Lily realized there is probably only one way to let him know, so she takes three quick steps towards him and goes on her tiptoes, pressing her lips firmly against his for the third time in her life.

This time the kiss is clumsy at the beginning, because he's not expecting it, and then soft, because it takes him a second to realize she's Lily, not some fragile little girl and then, finally, it becomes angry, furious even, making Lily go as far as taking his robe off and letting it fall to the floor... revealing a thin blue jumper and a pair of beige trousers.

Once they pull apart she looks up at him and he looks back at her, out of breath, confused.

"It's because you kiss me back...It's because, since I kissed you last year I can't really kiss anyone else without thinking of you and it's because I think the crush I've had since I was fourteen is growing deeper and I'm scared, because even though I've spent a year without seeing you, I can still recognise you in a dark street by getting a flash of your eyes."

Teddy shakes his head. He's obviously thought about Lily in this last year, maybe in these last two years but he still can't bring himself to accept that she can be just a girl to him; she's Lily, after all, she's the closest thing he has to a little sister. And yet he knows that he doesn't see her that way, he hasn't seen her that way since she became more than a sister, since she became his best friend. "It's just because of that kiss two years ago, Lily," he tries to convince her, and maybe himself a little. "You're just confused."

Lily runs her fingers through her hair angrily and starts to pace. "The why did you kiss me back right now? Why do you get so bloody angry at me? Why can't I bare to write a bloody letter to you without breaking down?"

"Youre 19-years-old, Lily, I'm...I'm Teddy! You and me, we can't...we are not..." he stutters.

"You're my best friend," she lets him know. "You're the only one who really gets me."

Teddy sighs because he feels the same but it can't be. "I'm also ten years older than you and basically your brother in everything but blood. I've changed your nappies, for magic's sake."

Lily doesn't look away like he's expecting her to, she stands just as near as before, looking up at him with those big brown eyes.

"You've spent a whole month looking for me," she mumbles, making it impossible for him to continue looking, suddenly making him think the sofa is far more interesting to look at than she is.

"Teddy, look at me."

He doesnt move.

"Teddy..." she mutters. "Look. At. Me."

And, when he turns and looks straight into her eyes, he knows there's no hope of regaining control now. So he's quiet for a second and, without being able to help himself, in less than a few seconds, he has her pressed up against the nearest wall, kissing her like he's only dared to think about in his dreams, with all thought of why this is wrong completely out of his head.

Still kissing him she rips her shirt off her body, making Teddy eyes fall onto her chest and stop kissing her for a second. She doesn't allow the moment to extend before kissing him again, making sure he doesn't start overthinking things again. His jumper and shirt also get lost quickly, as does Lily's bra, leaving them both topless.

Teddy takes a step back but Lily moves with him, pressing herself against his firm chest. He takes a hand up to her red hair and strokes it softly.

"Lily," his lips caress her name with a broken voice. The passion, the want, is palpable. In all ways. It almost seemed like he's physically fighting against himself. Lily stands on her tiptoes and puts her hands on his belt pulling at it, Teddy stops her, trying to regain his breath.

The beautiful 19-year-old looks up at him, putting her hands on both sides of his face. "You make me happy," she mutters, trying to transmit all the sincerity she can manage.

And those words, and that look, can only make him want to make her happier. The kisses continue, leading them to the bedroom and to discover just how happy they can make each other.

* * *

 **He** looks around the bedroom, still slightly disconcerted about what has happened. He's sitting on the side of the bed, head in hands, knowing that Lily isn't asleep, because she's not snoring, but not daring to look back at her to make sure in case she says something.

He's torn in a way he's never been before; he's torn about everything. He's torn because, while he's with her, really with her, it doesn't just feel right, it feels great and not just because its sex, although that makes it even better, but it's because she's Lily; she's understood him better than anyone else since she was thirteen and she makes him laugh like no one else has. But yet, as he sits here he can't help the flashes he gets of her as a baby, as the six-year-old he'd play hide-and-seek with, as the person who had wanted him to marry Victoire because that would make him part of the family. He's torn because, if he mixes thought of what he's just done and the flashes he gets of the girl he's done it with, he feels visible sick.

"I can almost hear you thinking," the hard voice says behind him.

He turns around and finds Lily sitting up on the bed, holding the lilac sheet to her breasts, with her hair falling around her small face in disarray.

Teddy closes his eyes, trying to think. "I didn't come here to do this."

She puffs in frustration and gets off the bed. For a second, Teddy thinks she might try to seduce him again, but soon enough he realizes she's looking for a pair of knickers and a t-shirt. Once she finds them she walks towards him and sits beside him on the bed.

"I know," she tells him before she smiles. "Do you realize we always end up sitting side by side on the eve of my birthday?"

Teddy looks at the clock and sees its only 11:42.

He wants to continue talking nicely to her, but he can't, he needs to know what this means.

"Isn't this completely wrong?" he asks her, knowing she won't give him the right answer, but wanting to hear it nevertheless.

She shrugs and brings both her legs up on the bed, crossing them in front of her.

"Why?" she asks.

He mumbles something. "Because of all the things I said before... because I'm Harrys godson and I came here to make sure you were safe not to..."

Lily doesn't say anything, she just lifts her left hand and runs it through Teddy's hair, knowing that the contact would make him turn it Turquoise.

"You kept me company on a night I was dreading spending alone, what better way is there to keep me safe and happy?" she honestly wonders out loud.

"I shouldn't even be able to see you this way, Lily. I shouldn't be able to see you as anything more than a kid," he lets her know.

Lily shakes her head, not being able to accept that. "You, better than anyone, should know that age is a stupid thing to use against this kind of thing. Remember what Dad always says about your parents... They were thirteen years apart, Teddy, and as happy as can be."

"Didn't do them much good, did it?" Teddy speaks in a tone that Lily has never heard him use to talk about his parents. So she shuffles on the bed until she's right next to him, with her forehead leaning on his right arm.

Lily looks up at him, kissing his arm softly. "It gave them you, Teddy-bear," she tries to make him understand. "Their love gave them a beautiful son, their love gave all of us you; it gave _me_ you."

Teddy tries to stop himself, but he can't, he leans down and captures her lips in his, leaving his forehead against hers when he feels the need to breath.

"It feels right," she tells him. "Don't deny it feels right."

The man shakes his head. "I won't, it feels better than right... But then it also feels wrong, Lils; it feels so wrong in some ways... It makes me sick in the stomach to think I just... It's not about the age difference, it's about the fact that I have seen you grow up..."

Lily sighs. "I'm all grown up now, Teddy."

"I know, and while I'm kissing you, while I'm... well, you know... I see that side of you, but then I see you fall asleep, with those little snores and drooling over your pillow and I see the other you, the you that is my little sister."

Lily turns around and bites her lip as she realizes that maybe he's right, maybe it's just too hard for him to see anything other than the little Lily Luna Potter.

So, she turns back to look at him once again and she gives him one last kiss that leaves him hanging because he doesn't know what she wants and, most importantly, he doesn't know what _he_ wants.

"I think, to a certain degree, I can understand... So I promise I'm done with any seduction game and tonight never happened...you came upstairs, shouted at me for a while and then left."

The 29-year-old looked at her in awe. "Is that even fair on either of us? We... We just had sex, Lily..."

Lily nods. "And, even then, you can't look at me in the eye without seeing a little girl who, I must admit, is a big part of who I am today, but is also nothing like I am today. And it's okay, Teddy... It's perfectly okay, I swear..."

Having said that, she stands up and reaches out for a few items of Teddy's clothing. She hands them to him and he puts them on; once he's ready he looks at the clock.

"Do you want me to wait?" he asks, looking at the clock that says she will be 20 in eight minutes.

Lily shakes her head. "No, it doesn't matter; maybe if you get a move on you'll reach the Portkey that leaves at midnight.

Teddy nods and walks over to the front door. There's an uncomfortable silence as she opens a drawer, takes something out and follows him outside.

When he's already out of the front door she hands him a letter.

"I _did_ write you one, but please consider this was never going to be sent; it was a way of letting it all out..."

Teddy nods and Lily smiles before moving to close the door. He stops her and leans down again for another kiss; this time it's she who doesn't expect it.

"You're amazing, okay?" he tells her. "And I know I'm going to end up regretting not being able to see you completely the way I want to, but... I need you to know that I love you and being with you is great and..."

Lily shuts him up with another kiss.

"I know, Teddy, okay? Its fine...I really do understand...

This time she really closes the door, leaving Teddy standing alone in the passage way. Before he leaves he opens the letter and is surprised to see how short it is.

* * *

 **Dear Teddy,**

 **I miss you...so much. I miss your jokes and I miss your smile, and I miss fighting without you about silly things and arguing with you about the big ones. I miss the look on your face when I kissed you last Christmas and I miss the look on your face when you kissed me the one before. But, most of all, I miss the feeling that comes over me when you come near; I miss getting jealous at every female Auror who gets partnered up with you, and I miss those Sunday afternoons back when I was fifteen, when we used to sit around all day doing nothing.**

 **I know it's a lot more complicated than simply missing, though.**

 **Happy Christmas, Teddy-bear, I hope it's a good one.**

 _ **Lily**_

* * *

And so, he folds the letter, looks at his clock and wonders if he can do this, if he can be with her like a part of him really wants to be but, he decides to Apparate, reaching the Portkey just in time so that he can enter Potter Manor at midnight, when the old clock is chiming and the happy birthday to you Muggle song that the clock has always made on these especial days, makes its way to his ears.

"Happy 20th, Lily," he whispers.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it guys. Please, please, do remember to **REVIEW...** I enjoy them a lot :D


	4. 4: 2028

**24th December 2028**

* * *

Once she opens the door, she's greeted by her mother, James, Albus and thousands of questions about the announcement she sent them in an owl only a week ago.

"I'm going to be less than 50 kilometres away; you can come any time of the day through the Floo..." she tells them with a smile.

Albus wraps his left arm around her. "You're sure you won't be leaving again, then?" he asks her.

When she came home for the wedding last summer and then left again, no one thought she'd be coming back for good a few months later, but here she was and she wasn't leaving.

"I can't promise anything except that I've got a 2 year contract at Saint Mungos and, if nothing happens, I'll be playing for England this summer," she tells them. "But, yes, I'm not going back to Angola any time soon."

James can't help but ruffle his younger sister's hair. "I've missed you so much, squirt..."

Lily laughs and comes into the living room where she is greeted by everyone. Her grandparents, her cousins, her uncles...And a few new faces like Scorpius Malfoy's, who is holding Roses hand like he might get lost in the sea of red-heads if he drops it. There are only two people who don't walk towards her when she arrives, her father and Teddy.

* * *

The first thing she does when she's done greeting all the adults is gather her goddaughter in her arms and kiss her. She feels guilty that Anna looks so big and she knows she's missed too much; luckily, from now on shell try to be there for her as much as she can. Little Harold is also huge; Lily can literally not recognise him.

She's in the kitchen when it happens. She's bringing some plates in to help her mother out when her dad's voice makes his presence known to her.

"You look taller," he says.

She turns and stutters slightly, but manages to regain her composure. "I...It's the high heels, I haven't grown an inch since I was sixteen, never mind since summer."

His hair is greyer now, but it's still mainly black and his eyes look tired.

"England wants you for sure, then?" He asks.

Lily nods. "I've beaten every record... It doesn't matter that I've not played in England. When it comes to the snitch, no one has been able to beat me yet."

There's a small silence.

"I don't owe you anything anymore," she tells him finally. "Scratch that," she then corrects. "I owe you my life, which is an awful lot, but I've already apologized for the things I said that summer and I'm not going to apologize for going to Angola. It's something I needed to do."

He nods and is going to say something but Lily continues talking.

"Are you and Mum better?" She asks. "She tells me you are, but I think she doesn't want me to blame myself."

Harry runs his fingers through his hair and sits down on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Sit down, Princess," he says, making a feeling of warmth invade Lily at the use of her old nickname. So she sits down.

When her dad looks up at her with those emerald eyes of his, she can see through his glasses that he's crying.

"I've been so stubborn..." he tells her. "I was just so afraid that, if I told you it was okay and something happened... It'd be like I had let something happen to you, and I could never deal with that, Lily... I couldn´t live with anything happening to you..."

Lily bites her lip. "But wouldn't it have been a lot worse if something had happened to me and the last words you had said were hateful?"

"I realize that now," he tells her. "Well, not now; I realized that in summer, but I was just so mad, thinking that you were old enough to do whatever you wanted...Thinking that you didn't need me anymore. And then you went and changed your surname..."

"Dad, I told Teddy about that... It was a matter of safety. I'm a Potter and I'm proud of it, it was only temporal. I'm going into the Ministry as soon as I can to change it back. But... Mum's still going to be a Potter, right? You two aren't getting a divorce or anything like that..."

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but it was Ginny who came into the kitchen and answered.

"I've known I was going to marry your father since Grandpa Arthur told me about his story back when I was five years old. And I knew he was a stubborn git when I got married to him. Don't worry about us, Lily, we go together, no matter how mad we are at each other," she speaks as she walks towards Harry and puts a hand on his shoulder. The man places his own on top of his wife's.

Harry looks at his daughter. "Do you think you can forgive me? I know things aren't going to be perfect but I...I've missed you like crazy, Princess, I really have..."

She doesn't say anything; she just stands up and hugs him. Because she's still mad at him, because he's been so stubborn...But, above it all, he's her dad. He's the one who taught her how to catch a snitch, he's the one who showed her what it feels like to help others...He's the reason she is the way she is and that is worth a lot more than any fight they could ever have."

So they both go back out into the living room and, once the family sees Harry drop a kiss on his daughters temple... everything seems perfect.

* * *

"I know... I'm sorry but I'm just so tired from the journey," she tells them when there's still an hour to go for midnight.

"Stay here," Molly begs her granddaughter. "Or come back to The Burrow with you grandpa and me."

Lily shakes her head. "Really, Grandma, it's okay... I just want to sleep at mine for the first time tonight and I promise I'll be at The Burrow early in the morning, ready to try on my new sweater. Remember I'm only a Floo journey away now."

She says bye to her cousins, warns Malfoy that she'll be even worse than Uncle Ron if he hurts Rosie. He kisses Anna and Harold on the forehead and then kisses their parents on the cheek and hugs James while she tells his wife that she's dying to hear news of a new niece or nephew. She kisses her mum and then finally hugs her dad; that's when she realizes that Teddy, who she hasn't shared a word with in the whole night, isn't there.

"Wheres Teddy?" Lily asks her dad. Harry just lets her know that he decided to go home earlier because he was tired, and, wondering how true that is, she Apparates.

* * *

"How in Godric's name did you get in?" Lily shouts when she sees Teddy sitting on her red armchair, staring at the front door.

He stands up. "I morphed into you and asked you dear neighbour if he had the spare key. Funny, turns out he did. What a twit... I could've been someone who was trying to hurt you."

Lily raises her eyebrows. "Thanks for the warning but, what the hell are you doing here?"

Teddy shrugs. "I don't really know... you didn't look at me all night."

"Well, you didn't even stand up to welcome me," she tells him, wondering why it is that he's here. "And truthfully, I just didn't know what to expect, you haven't even sent an owl since the wedding."

The man's hair suddenly turns a little red, as does his face. "I didn't know if you wanted to hear from me."

"Well," Lily starts. "If all you were going to do is once again tell me that I'm like your little sister while you shag the living daylights out of me..."

"Don't be so crude," he reprimands her.

"Well, what do you want me to call it? We both get bloody turned on, shag like well go crazy if we don't, feel guilty after and then you leave and we both forget about it, until the next time."

"It's only happened twice,"

"Bloody enough in my opinion," the red-head lets him know.

"Is that why you're having an affair with Jackson Wood?"

A pregnant pause takes hold of the scene and Lily's eyes narrow dangerously. "Excuse me?"

Teddy breaths in, angrily, as he nods. "I read it in the paper yesterday...The man's got a wife and a kid, Lily, don't you have at least some respect for family?"

He expected the slap, but was still shocked when her hand collided with his cheek.

"Jack is going to be announced as the new trainer for the English team in a matter of days, you bloody moron! We were having coffee while he convinced me to join the team for the world cup!" she shouted. "And, who the hell do you think you are to pull a jealous stunt? You have no bloody right, Edward Lupin..."

She doesn't wait to hear his response; she goes into her bedroom and takes off her dress...pulling a long shirt over her underwear. Teddy is at the bedroom door, watching her.

"I think I love you," he simply says.

Lily looked at him with unbelieving eyes. "You have a lot of nerve, Teddy..."

"No," he says as he walks forward and grabs her arm, forcing her to look at him. "I know I love you... but what I don't know is how to be with you without feeling like this. Merlin, Lily, I haven't even looked at another woman since last Christmas because, when I do, all I can think about is you, the way you feel, the way you kiss..."

"And yet," Lily retorts, "when you look at me, you feel guilty because you see me as a little girl."

"I don't see you as a little girl," Teddy rectifies. "But I don't think it's so hard to understand, Lils...think about...I don't know...think about Professor Neville's youngest, Frank... you were seven when he was born... he's fifteen now. Imagine what would happen if, some day in the future, he kissed you and you started to realize you love everything about him but then, every once in a while you realize he's that 5 year old kid you used to babysit..."

"I..." Lily tries. "I can't imagine ever falling for Frank, but I guess I know what you mean."

Teddy smiles and takes her face in his hands. "But I think I can try, Lily... I think I can try to do this. Maybe we can just try behind everyone's back for a while and then maybe if it works we can..."

Yet, Lily interrupts him by pulling his hands away from her face and looking down at her t-shirt.

"I'm seeing Dylan Corner," she admits. "I've been seeing him since September. He came to the wedding and..."

Teddy takes a few steps back. "You're seeing a guy you talked to on the same wedding in which you and I spent the night together? I can't even look at a girl without thinking of you and you're dating someone...?"

"Hey! Don't look at me like I've done anything wrong," she warns him. "All I've done is try to stop hurting over you because you can't make up your mind. And, although you say now that you have, I know that were going to sleep together again and you're going to feel guilty and leave me hanging for the third time."

Teddy needs to prove her wrong so he walks right back to her and kisses her with as much passion as he can manage, trying to convince her as much as himself. She kisses him back with as much passion, showing him that it's not she who needs convincing.

When they pull back she smiles sympathetically. "I know you want me, Teddy-bear; that's never been a mystery... but right now you're looking at me with that misguided look that shows me you don't know if this is right, and I can't convince you of that. Only you can..."

Teddy sighs. "And, what do you propose I do, Lils? Wait until it feels right and then realize it's too late because you're getting engaged to bloody Dylan Corner."

Lily shrugs. "What do you want me to say?"

"That you won't marry Dylan Corner would be a good start," he tells her.

"Okay, I won't marry Dylan Corner," she says. "He's great to spend a fun while, and Merlin knows he's great in bed..." Teddy winces. "But he's obnoxious and too competitive and overbearing. But I can't promise I'm going to wait for you, Teddy...I wish I could, but I can't."

"Never talk about you in bed with another guy in front of me," he tells her. "I mean it..."

"Okay," Lily says. "But, listen to me..."

She takes his hand in hers and caresses his natural sandy hair with red highlights with the other, making it turn Turquoise. "A year," she says. "Let's give each other a year. A year to meet new people and to not jump into each other the second we meet eyes. A year so you can make up your mind, and this time next year, if were both single and you're really ready to try... then."

"I don't know if I can stand a whole year," he tells her.

"Maybe it'll be the best way for you to realize I'm not just your baby god-sister...I'm your best friend and for a year I'll be your best friend, nothing more."

Teddy sighs. "Can I at least kiss you once more before the year starts?"

Lily laughs and nods, giving Teddy one last kiss before the clock strikes midnight and a Patronus erupts in between them. Harry Potter's stag makes the sound of the old clock that chimes and the happy birthday to you makes its way to their ears

"Happy 21st, Lily," Teddy speaks up and, before she can answer, he disapparates.

* * *

PLEASE, REMEMBER TO **REVIEW**! Hahahah, thanks for reading!


	5. 5: 2029

**24th December 2029**

* * *

"So you think he might have been under some kind of potion? One that may have forced him to act that way?" Harry asks his daughter while they both eat at the dinner table.

It's been agreed that this year will be the last Christmas Eve party that the Potters hold. In a way, it's sad because Lily loves having everyone here to celebrate her birthday, but it's just getting to be too much: this year, sitting around the huge table there's Andromeda, Molly and Arthur and every one of their living children, including all their spouses and their dear friends Neville Longbottom and Luna Scamander, with their respective wife and husband. Then there's also every single one of their kids, and their significant others, which, considering only Hugo, Lily, Teddy, Fred, Frank, Louis and Molly are single makes an awful lot of significant others, and then, there's the kids of these kids... which means there's 54 people having dinner in the expanded Potter living room today.

"If Ginny hears you talking about work shell cut your heads off," Teddy warns Harry and Lily when he realizes they're talking about Lil'ys patient, which is also Harry's main suspect in the Watson murder.

Lily turns to look at him and laughs, her dad does the same. "Your grandma looks like she's going to go crazy with so much noise."

The red-head makes Teddy laugh, "You know she's used to a quiet life..."

"Sometimes I wonder," Harry states. "How she could've been Tonks' mother...She's so calm and peaceful while your mum, Ted, was chaotic to say the least. My guess is she took after your grandfather, but I have to say I didn't know him long enough to be able to say that for sure."

"Grandma always says he was," he says, turning to look at Lily. "She says I didn't take after my mother, though, she says my calmness comes from her and from my dad, so she thinks that if ever do get married it'll have to be to someone whose pretty crazy...It's almost a family tradition... the calm goes with the storm."

Harry smiles. "She'll probably have to be a red-head too, mate... In my opinion, there's also a big part of you that's Potter."

Lily and Teddy share a look that makes them both burst out laughing, but her dad doesn't catch on, he's too busy ogling his wife, who has just returned from the bathroom.

"Looking at my mother like that is indecent, Dad... For god's sake, won't you two ever grow up?"

Teddy punches her playfully. "Let them be," he whispers in her ear. "I haven't seen them this happy in a long time. Besides they're not even fifty yet, let them live..."

Lily smiles and looks around the table again. "When do you think Rose will start showing?" she asks Teddy.

He shakes his head. "I still think she isn't pregnant. A quick wedding doesn't always mean a pregnancy, you know?"

Lily rolls her eyes. "She's pregnant, Teddy... Trust me with this one. She's not drinking wine, Scorpius looks even more scared of Ron than usual and Rose, the eternal perfectionist, would have prepared a wedding with a two year start."

Teddy shrugs. "I'm sure well know soon enough. Maybe they'll even send singing fireworks to everyone like James did."

Lily smiles, thinking about her unborn nephew. She still can't quite believe that her eldest brother is having a kid.

"Lorcan's wife also looks like she's ready to pop any minute," the red-head thinks out loud.

The older man looks at her. "Does it bother you? About Lorcan?" He asks.

"About the baby?" she asks in return, with a smile. "Not at all. I really _am_ happy for him...I'm just kind of relieved it's not me whom he impregnated while he investigated the weirdest plants in this world."

Teddy looks at her and smiles, leaning in to whisper in her ear.

"I'm glad it isn't you too."

They both laugh.

* * *

 **"You** sure you don't want to tell me?" Ginny asks her daughter. "Maybe just give me a first name?"

Lily laughs. "No, Mother...I've told you. I'll tell you if it gets serious..."

Ginny pouts. "Getting serious means nothing to you... God knows, when I got serious with your dad we had barely even snogged. You, on the other hand..."

"Shut up," Lily tells her mother. "You sound like grandma..."

"You shut up... Now, seriously Lily, are you sleeping with this boy?"

Lily goes red.

"I'm not going to dignify that question with an answer, Mum!"

"Okay, so you are..." Ginny speaks sadly. "You know, Lily, I think you'd find it's a lot better to wait until you've found the man you're going to marry..."

"A little too late for that, Mum, don't you think?"

Ginny shakes her head. "Is he at least the one?" She asks.

Lily laughs, but she doesn't answer...Teddy does.

"Who? The Corner guy? I would hope not, Ginny, Lily promised me she wouldn't marry that git..." the boy with the turquoise hair says.

"Not Dylan, Teddy... There's someone else and she won't tell me who it is," Ginny protests.

Lily just laughs. "Being nosy doesn't suit you, Mum...it really doesn't."

Ginny huffs and turns towards the door, the porch is getting too cold for her anyway. "Maybe you can have better luck Teddy," she mumbles before going back inside.

Teddy laughs and walks towards Lily, he then realizes that she had been hiding a cigarette behind her back.

"You're smoking, again?" He asks, disgusted.

Lily brings the cigarette to her mouth and gives it a drag. "Hugo had some from the last time he visited me in Angola."

Teddy can't stop himself from grabbing the cigarette and throwing it down onto the lawn.

"You have to stop doing that, it's disgusting..." he tells her.

She shrugs. "You can't even smell it; I've charmed them that way."

The older man sighs. "I doubt that new guy you're with likes it though..."

Lily shakes her head. "Oh, no... he completely hates it, but he knows it's only a once in a while thing."

Teddy comes nearer to her. "Promise me this one was the last."

"I promise, Teddy-bear" she says, but Teddy knows she's crossing her fingers behind her back so he comes even closer to her, pushes her against the banister and grabs her hand. He looks through the two windows to make sure no one is watching and kisses her right there.

When he pulls back he pulls a disgusted face but can't help but laugh as he lets his arms stay around her.

"This is the place where you kissed me for the first time, exactly four years ago..." she says softly.

Teddy smiles. "I thought we agreed that that wasn't a kiss."

"Yeah," Lily says. "But I also recall us agreeing that we wouldn't be anything more than friends for a year. I think tonight was going to be the night we gave it another thought, actually."

The 31 year old shrugs. "We haven't done so bad, have we?"

Lily raises her eyebrows. "You kissed me 6 days after we made the pact, Teddy!"

"It was New Years' Eve, that barely counts... and I didn't kiss you again until April, when you broke up with that Dick."

"And then we basically kissed every time we saw each other," Lily reminds him.

But he argues with her. "I was on a mission for four months after that! I only just made it back for Rose and Scorpius' wedding."

"Oh, yeah, that one where we had sex for a whole weekend none stop?" she asks with a cheeky laugh.

Teddy rolls his eyes and leans down to kiss her again. "That one where I didn't feel guilty after..."

Lily can't help but smile. "Maybe we just didn't need a year," she states. Teddy smirks.

"'Course we didn't need a year...Are you coming back to mine tonight?"

Lily nods. "But I have to be back in the morning in case Hugo checks up on me...He still hasn't found his own place."

Teddy laughs. "Do you think the sneaking around will ever get old?"

Lily laughs. "Yeah, but not for a long time."

Teddy leans in for another kiss, but is interrupted by the clock striking midnight and the happy birthday Muggle song making its way to their ears.

"Happy 22nd, Lily," he tells her. Lily smiles but doesn't reply; she simple looks around once more, pecks him lightly on the lips and runs inside, where the rest of the family is waiting.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry this was short, but there seems to be less to write about fluff than about angst hahaah I won't take too long to update. and Happy New Year! Please remember to REVIEW :) It means the world to me to know what you think about the story.**


	6. 6: 2030

**A/N: Soo incredible sorry for the Delay! Life got in the way and kind of forgot about the story but I promise that last three chapters will be uploaded during april. Thanks for waiting and reading! :D**

 **24th of December 2030**

"Can you just get a move on, Lily?" Teddy shouts at her from the sofa.

"Not all of us can just make our hair look exactly like we want it to!" Lily shouts from the bathroom.

The man stands up and walks towards the bathroom, knowing he's going to find Lily trying to do something with her hair that won't work out, leaving her to wear it down like always.

"You look beautiful either way," he tells her truthfully. She looks at him and sighs.

"Are we arriving together or separately?" He then asks. She doesn't answer anything until she lets out a frustrated breath and flicks her wand, making her hair fall down in her natural red waves.

"Doesnt really matter, does it? I mean...If we're telling them today..." she shrugs.

Teddy runs a hand through his hair, making it a little longer at the same time. "So we're going through with that?"

Lily stops and looks at him. "I don't know. I was under the impression we were..."

Teddy looks at her dressed in a beautiful green gown that goes down to her knee.

"Yeah, I know...But that was back when we thought you were...You know."

Lily grabs her purse and puts on her shoes. Its almost scary that, when she opens Teddys wardrobe to get them, she realizes she has more of her stuff here than she does at her own flat."I thought we agreed that we would tell them anyway...You know, in case this happens again. I really do think: 'Dad, Teddy and I are seeing each other,' is a lot better than, 'Dad, Teddy got me pregnant'."

Teddy closes his eyes and tries to think. "What about moving in? Have you given that any thought?"

Lily shakes her head. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet, Teddy."

"You were ready to have that baby if you had been pregnant... I think moving in is a pretty small thing compared to that..." he states.

The red-head sighs. "When it came to the baby it wasn't about me being ready, it was about stepping up...If I had been pregnant we'd have had to force ourselves to be ready."

"I was ready all along," Teddy mutters.

Lilys eyes narrow. "Well, Teddy, then you might as well find someone who is also 33-bloody-years-old and is ready to get married and have a baby because I sure as hell am not!"

And with that, she disaparates.

* * *

 **"Im** sorry I'm late," Teddy apologises as he sits at the smallest table that has ever been set for a 24th of December at the Potter house.

Around the table are Harry, Ginny, James, his wife, Albus's wife and Lily.

"No problem, son," Harry tells him. "Lily just arrived and Albus is putting the children to sleep. But we should get a move on because Aly is feeling tired."

"I really think you shouldn't even be here, Alice," Lily tells her. "Rose's twins came a month early and they were huge...I don't even want to think about how uncomfortable you must be right now, youre almost due."

Alice smiled. "I'm okay, Lily, really... As long as I don't move around a lot. Besides, if I need you, you're here."

Lily nods.

"I really dont know how you do it, Aly," James tells her. "Sarah and I have our hands full with Marcus...I cant even wrap my head around having four."

Alice shakes her head. "If it wasn't for your brother... He literally does everything, it's almost scary sometimes because he also manages to write two books a year. I swear to you I'm sure he has a time turner...It's the only way I can imagine how he does it all."

"And the most amazing thing," Teddy adds, looking slightly at Lily. "Is that he's only 25...And he and Anna were already married and had two kids when he was 23."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily cant stop her accusing tone as she turns to look at Teddy, who has sat down beside her. "Al's happy that way, but you might find that most of us aren't... I mean, you definitely weren't married and with kids on the way when you were 23, or 25, or 27...or even 30."

"Lily!" Ginny reprimands her daughter. "What's wrong? Are you two fighting?"

Teddy turns to look at Ginny and then back at Lily. "No, nothing wrong...I just need a breather..."

Without saying another word, Teddy walks into the kitchen and looks around for something to punch until he simply punches the stove, hurting his hand in the process.

"You idiot," Lily, who has followed him, speaks, taking out her wand and fixing his hand in a matter of seconds. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she asks after casting a silencing spell. "It's not even I who doesn't want to tell them, it's you who's so hesitant to do it!"

"Oh, excuse me for being scared of telling the closest thing I have to a father, that I've been fucking his daughter every once in a while since she was 20 and I've never bothered to tell him about it."

Lily looks down and reaches for his hand. "Do you even think it's worth it?" she asks.

He looks up at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, is it worth causing a fight? Telling them, I mean, is it really so important? I admit it was back when we thought I was pregnant but now it just seems pointless," she tells him; he pulls his hand away from hers.

He breathes in. "So what do you suggest we do? Tell them once I propose? Or maybe even the day we get married...Yeah, that sounds good," he mocks her. "Dad, mum, boys... turns out me and Teddy fell in love a few years ago and didn't bother to tell you but we're getting married today so, wanna come?"

Lily bites her lip, not quite knowing how to say what shes going to say next.

"Are we even sure that that's where we're heading?" Lily asks.

Teddy raises his eyebrows. "Excuse me?" He spits at her.

"Bloody hell, Teddy, we fight all the time and we have a huge age difference, and telling my parents about this is being as hard as it gets...Forgive me for wondering if maybe this thing doesn't have such a future," she confesses.

Teddy cant quite believe it. "You were ready to marry me two months ago!"

"Because I thought I was pregnant! Besides, I wasnt going to marry you! I told you I wasn't going to let you ask only because of that!"

"Its not only because of that, I love you! I want to spend the rest of my life with you! I thought you felt the same..."

Lily is about to answer back when Albus' voice reaches them and she's forced to bring down the silencing charm.

"Why are you two arguing about with a silencing charm? Is everything okay?" he asks.

Lily cant help but realize how fatherly his voice sounds; he looks and sounds older than Teddy.

"Everything's okay, Al... It's just some stuff concerning an Auror case I'm working on and I dont want Dad to know I'm working on it..."

Al nods slowly and turns around, seemingly leaving but what he does is close the kitchen door and turn back to look at them.

"I know about you two," he says.

Both Teddy and Lilys eyes go wide. "What?" they both mumble.

"I saw your Harpies t-shirt at Teddys in March... Then I saw Teddys Auror uniform at yours in April, and once I saw your favourite blue towel hanging from Teddy's shower, I knew it... your way of acting just confirmed it..."

Lily sighs. "Whom have you told?"

"No one!" Albus states quickly. They both look at him, not believing it for a second. "Well, okay, Aly... but only her because I knew she wouldn't say anything! I would never rat you out until you were ready..."

Teddy lets out a sarcastic laugh and walks towards his god-brother. "Well, no problem there, mate. Seems like we wont be getting serious any time soon."

Having said that, Teddy moves to leave, but Lily stops him.

"Don't you dare walk out that door, Teddy!" the red-head threatens him.

"Don't worry, Lily, I won't say a word to your parents about us...You wont feel forced to stay that way..."

Suddenly Harrys voice interrupts them all.

"What is going on here?" He asks coming into the kitchen. "You both leave the table and suddenly we all hear shouts. You got Alice all nervous, I think she may even be having contractions."

Albus then goes into husband mode so quickly it freaks most of them out, and before they know whats happening, they're all in a Saint Mungos waiting room.

* * *

 **"She's** not having them tonight," Albus finally comes out to tell them after almost a whole hour. "And probably not tomorrow, either, so you don't have to worry about them taking over your birthday, Lils."

Lily offers her brother a small smile. "But she's staying here, isnt she? In case she goes into labour?"

"Yes," Albus spoke. "Is Sarah with the kids?" he asks James.

"Yeah," he answers. "Dont worry, little brother, well take care of them for the night."

Albus nods and says a few quick goodbyes before quickly going back into the room they've assigned for Alice.

"Why don't you come back home, Lily?" Harry asks his daughter. "You look too tired to be Apparating. Its funny, you always used to make it to midnight on this night."

Teddy wraps an arm around her. "I'll make sure she gets home safe, Harry. I'm awake enough to side-along-apparate her."

Harry's not quite convinced but nods. Before he knows it, theyve both disappeared.

* * *

 **"Do** you think we can do this tomorrow, Teddy?" she asks. "I don't want to argue today."

Teddy, however, shakes his head. "We're doing this tonight, Lily...I ca'nt go to sleep without you explaining what the hell you meant at your parents house."

Lily bites her lip and puts her hair up. "I got offered a job with the Harpies," she suddenly says, leaving Teddy dumbfounded. After all, what did that have to do with anything? "Playing Quidditch?" He asks. "Now?"

Lily shakes her head. "On their healing team and also on their training team...And maybe as a reserve for the less important matches."

"Okay," Teddy speaks slowly. "And what in Merlin's name does that have to do with you questioning our future together?"

Lily gulps. "I'm going to take it," she then says. Teddy starts repeating the same question again, but Lily interrupts him. "And I've decided that I'm going to live at the training camp in Wales until my contract is over."

"You what?" is Teddy's only answer to her statement.

"I'm going to be living in..."

"No," Teddy snaps at her. "I heard you loud and clear. What I meant is: When the hell did you make this decision?"

"Sincerely? I think I made it when I found out I wasn't pregnant, but I really only came to the conclusion tonight, when I realised you didn't want to talk to Dad and Mum either," she explains.

Teddy doesn't quite know what to do at this moment because he's only just realized the woman he was going to propose to tonight is breaking up with him.

"Is it me or are you breaking up with me?" he asks her.

She looks down. "I didn't think I was but I think I've realized that maybe that's exactly what Im doing. Because I dont think we are on the same page right now, Teddy..."

"What do you mean by that?" He wonders.

"I know you were going to propose tonight... at midnight, and that youve charmed the alarm clock to make the same noise my parents clock makes on this day."

Once again, she leaves him stunned.

"How...?"

"I saw the ring while I was looking for one of your t-shirts the other day... Then I tried to change the alarm clock two nights ago and I saw the spells... I put it all together easily. I know you too well..."

Teddy feels like hes lacking oxygen, so he sits down and tries to calm down.

"You could just say no, you know? No need to do this...I can wait another year..." he tells her.

"I don't think I'll be ready in another year," she answers truthfully. "And I don't think you want to wait another year."

"I don't understand why youre doing this!" he says. "According to you, you'd wanted to be with me since you were fourteen...If that's true, what is this about?"

"Maybe its about me not being fourteen anymore, Teddy..." she thinks out loud. "Maybe its just about the fact that Im tired of sneaking around and yet I'm not ready for the serious relationship that telling my parents would entail. The only thing I do know for sure is that, as much as I¡m going to hate myself for it when I realize I've lost you, I need to let you go right now."

Teddy closes his eyes, trying to rationalise. "Can I wait for you?" he asks. "Can I wait until you realize you and I are a lot more than a couple... Because I can assure that no other bloody bloke is going to love you like I do, just like I know there's not a girl out there who knows me better than you."

"I don't think waiting for me to make up my mind is healthy, or fair on you, Teddy-bear," she talks softly.

"Dont call me that," Teddy snaps. "You can't bloody dump me one second and then play the role of my best friend...If we really are done, were done..."

"The fact that I dont want to be in a relationship with you right now does not mean I love you any less, Teddy... It's only that I think a break might be just what we need."

Teddy stands up and gulps. "A break? Like your break with Lorcan? What if I meet someone new, Lily, someone who wants what I want for a change?"

Lily bites her lip. "Then 'Ill be hurt, but Ill be happy for you, because that will mean you've found your match."

"Youre my match," he mumbles before the clock strikes midnight, and the happy birthday to you Muggle song makes its way to their ears.

"Happy 23rd, Lily," he spits at her with venom before disapparating, not giving her an option to say anything else.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that was it. Hope you enjoyed the DRAMA. Please, do let me know what you think, there aren't many Lily/Teddy fans out there so it's super helpful if those of you who are REVIEW :)**


	7. 7: 2031

24th December 2031

The secluded area of the restaurant is lit with red and yellow candles that decorate the Christmas Eve feast that's taking place. Seven adults sit around the table smiling and holding their champagne glasses in the air.

"To the MVP of the Quiddich League, the best seeker seen since Victor Krum and a true honor to this family," Harry Potter speaks proudly as his only daughter blushes a shade of scarlet that matches her now-short-hair perfectly.

"To Lily!" The rest of the table cheers with smiles, before the next member of the family takes their turn to toast.

"To all those Christmas Eve's to come, every year with more chairs at the table" Ginny Potter speaks next, looking at her daughter with a glint in her eye. Harry doesn't take a second to add: "No need to rush them, thought!"

They all laugh and cheer to more chairs at the table.

"To Al's new book," Alice, Albus' wife speak sweetly. "May it be a success as great or more than all the rest."

Albus takes his turn and looks at his wife as he raises his glass. "To the woman of the table, to my amazing mother, my talented sister, my incredible sister-in-law, who manages to put up with James, which is nothing short of amazing, and to Ali...Not only for giving me my four beautiful children but for always being there." The writer makes all the woman at the table swoon. "And for not kicking me in the arse tonight when I suggested we might go for the fifth Longbottom-Potter."

Ginny and Lily squeal as he finishes his toast, even though Alice firmly teññs them than not kicking him in the arse does not mean she's giving in. Although the glint in her eye tells them all Albus and her will probably give Arthur and Molly Weasley a run for their money.

"I want to Toast to life," James' wife, Sarah, speaks up. "To this family that gave me all when I had nothing, to everything to come."

James hold her hand tight as they all raise their glasses to life.

"And I want to toast to life too," James says, making them all protest for him using his wife's toast. "Shut it and listen guys," he continues, making them all chuckle. "I wanna toast to life and, one life in particular. I swear we're not gonna go for the Quiddich team like these two rabbits," he says, pointing at a blushing Albus and Alice, "but I toast to the little girl that we'll be including in the family next May."

Everyone forgets their champagne and stands up to congratulate the expecting couple. Lily's the first to kiss them both but she quickly leaves space for the other four members of the family to surround them.

For once in his life, James seams to have had perfect timing and has allowed her to give a thought to her own toast, if any of them even remember she hasn't spoken after the big news.

It had been a complicated year to say the least. From simply practicing at the healing team for the Harpies, she'd ended up being the star of the league. Everything had seemed to be a butterfly effect since last January: she had joined the healing team and only a week in the star seeker had fallen pregnant, the reserve had broken three ribs, a leg and had received a severe concussion falling down the stairs to walk into the second game of the season and the second reserve had been knocked out in the first ten minutes of the game, leaving Gwenog Jones, senior trainer of the Harpies, no choice but to drag Lily out of the changing rooms and beg her to catch the snitch before all was lost for the confused and dismembered team.

Lily's catch in under a minute had beaten records that hadn't even existed until then and everything had led her to playing Quiddich for the first time in the English League, in the same team that gave her mother her fame.

And all that craziness and unexpected turn of events had led her to live day by day, not having much time to think about anything other than the sport she loved. That was until October had come and the league had ended, leaving her just as she had been those first few weeks of January; sad and lonely. She would still turn around sometimes in bed and expect to see Teddy there, looking at her through heavy eyelids and turning his hair turquoise as she straddled him and ran her hand through the locks. The last two months had been a constant reminder of her little rationality: she misses her ex-boyfriend terribly, having to fight herself daily not to send him an owl, but still knowing that she can't offer him what he wants, at 23 she still isn't ready.

"Lily! Come on! It's your turn!" Albus wakes her from her thoughts. Of course, if someone was gonna remember her, it was going to be Al.

Lily smiles and raised her glass. "To Love, to the way it unites everyone. To the way it creates life and to the way it keeps people together through memories, even when it pushed them apart."

They're all silent for a second, not quite understanding where Lily's words are coming from but nodding to them anyway.

Albus is the one to break the pause. "To Love"

"To Love" they all repeat.

* * *

 **"It's** a shame about Teddy, though. I tried so hard to convince him but there was just no way to get him to agree..." Ginny laments as they finishes eating their dessert.

Albus and Lily share a look before the red-head looks down at her plate.

"He's busy in the States, Gin, and Andromeda made the effort to go up there to see him. It's not that hard to understand that they wanted to share a Christmas together before Andie gets too old." Harry defends his god-son.

"He's got a bird there too, no one stays in another country for just the sake of it..." James intercedes, making Lily raise her eyes and stare daggers at her older brother.

"She's not a bird, James," her mother admonishes him. "Her name is Evelin. And Andromeda says she's a perfectly nice girl."

"About time too," Harry smiles. "I just hope he can get her to move here, I don't like having Ted so far away."

Lily's mind starts reeling, she had heard her mother talk about Teddy staying longer in the States because he was doing good work with a Werewolf coven there, but she had always suspected it had more to so with avoiding her and nothing to do with any girl named Evelin. _What kind of name is Evelin anyway?_

"I don't think they're that serious," Albus tries to help, sympathizing with his sister.

"Well, he's not getting any younger is he?" James speaks, his mouth full of the cake they had been served.

"Oh, I do hope she's the one for him, Ted deserves to finally be happy, get married, start a family..."

The words become the last drop for Lily and she suddenly feels like enough is enough. Everyone looks her way as she stands up quickly and noisily, hitting the table but luckily not making anything fall.

"I think I'm going to head up to my room," she announces hastily.

"Oh, come on, Lil!" Alice tries to convince . "It's almost midnight, wait so we can say happy birthday!"

Lily tried her hardest to give a realistic smile. "I'm nearly falling asleep, Aly. I swear I'll let you all embarrass me tomorrow and we can celebrate when the kids are awake."

They all nod and Harry gets up, ready to accompany his daughter up to her hotel room but she stops him.

No, dad, please, I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight!" she tries to sound bright but something in her voice makes Harry not want to insist and he decides it might be best to let her go.

Later on, when they all leave, James will overhear his younger brother muttering that he has the emotional range of a tea spoon, thing he couldn't make much sense of.

* * *

Lily barely made it to her room before her breaths became shorter and tears began to burn in the corners of her eyes. Images. Teddy with a beautiful golder haired beauty just like Victoire. Teddy waiting at the top of an aisle. Teddy holding a gorgeous turquoise todler in his...

How in Merlin's name could she be so bloody selfish? What right did she had to cry when she had chosen this life? Hadn't he warned her that this could happen? She couldn't even understand why she was crying, Teddy would get what he wanted, everything that she wasn't at all ready to give him, shouldn't that make her happy?

A hoot distracts her from the sobs and she looks up to see a familiar beige owl perched on top of the clock that marked 23:57.

"Loony!" she exclaims, standing up to pet the owl and take the letter that he was carrying.

She opens it quickly, cleaning her tears with her sleeves.

 _Dear Lily,_

 _I miss you...so much. I miss your jokes and I miss your smile, and I miss fighting without you about silly things and arguing with you about the big ones. I miss the look on your face when I kissed you and the look on my face when I could see your face laying on my pillow every morning. But, most of all, I miss the feeling that comes over me when you come near; I miss the feeling of jealousy I got when I saw that patient trying to put his moves on you and how I realized I was completely in love with you. And I miss those weekends together, doing nothing except enjoy life._

 _I know its a lot more complicated than simply missing, though. And I don't know how much longer I'll be able to continue missing and loving you before I have to decide to move on with my life,_

 _But I do either way_

 _Happy Birthday, Lily, I hope its a good one._

 _Teddy-Bear_

As the clock strikes midnight the letter rises and scrunches up, releasing the sound of a clock chiming the happy birthday to you song.

Somewhere thousands of kilometers away, a man looks at his clock striking 6 ó clock.

"Happy 23rd, Lily."


	8. 8: 2032

**24th December 2032**

Edward Remus Lupin twirls the small ring with black crystals in his hand. He traced the edges with his thumb and tries his hardest to not look at the inscription inside.

He had been so close to just playing along, just allowing Evelin to squeal and be happy. He could've been happy too...If only she'd had red hair, and about a foot less, and her small eyes had been bigger, darker and livelier. If only she looked at him like she was fire and he was ice.

"I swear, Potter has seen the snitch five times already but she's letting the game move on, the sight that girl has..." a man on the wireless announced with excitement.

"Her father is said to have been the youngest seeker of the century, Matt. And who can forget Ginny Weasley on a broom. Those Genes..."

Teddy almost hits himself. He obviously enjoyed torture and this was his favorite form. He never missed any of her matches, he would always turn the wireless on, no matter what time it was in New York. He could imagine her flying, that look of pure bliss and determination on her face, so similar to those signs of pleasure he could perfectly identity when they had been together.

She had looked so beautiful the last time he saw her. It was only a mere 4 months ago, for Harry and Ginny's 30th wedding anniversary. Accompanied by Lissander Scamander, for his husband was out of town, she had brightened the night dressed in a brown gown the fell to the floor. They hadn't spoken and he had tried his hardest to concentrate on Evelin, on seeming happy as he introduced her to his surrogate family. But Harry had seen right through it. _"She's an outstanding girl, Ted,"_ his godfather had told him, making him smile. However, his next comment had left Teddy feeling like a bastard. _"Girl's like that don't deserve to be led on."_

Harry hadn't said anything more and hadn't been anything but supportive from then on, but Teddy knew he was right. Not a month ago his grandmother had owled him, begging him to move back to England. The sentence, _"there's nothing real keeping you away, Edward,"_ had kept Teddy thinking for days.

"Oh, and Appleby's seeker finally sees the snitch. The Harpies waiting strategy might not work in the end, Lee. I'm all for making the game more interesting but the girls may lose the European Christmas Cup for aiming too high!"

Teddy chuckles. He already knows Lily's going to pull a backflip turn over and leave the other seeker looking the other way. He's pretty sure she could beat a whole team single-handedly if she put her mind to it.

"And Lily Potter is going off in another direction and...Oh! She's doing it, Matt! Her very own move that she already used in the league final. She twists her broom and with one hand turns upside down, gaining double the speed and managing to block Trey Dilvo. And she starts the back flip that will.."

Suddenly, a banging sound and a deafening scream from the crowd is heard through the wireless.

"And Potter's been hit!" Matt continues. "Dilvo turned in the last moment and crashed his broom into the young players head, while Paul Ysele sent a bludger into her shoulder and back. She's trying to get back on but she doesn't look so good. And Dilvo circles her again and..She's falling. Lily Potter is..."

A ruffling sound takes over the radio transmission and Lee Jordan's voice can be heard moving away from the microphone asking for help and for someone to call St. Mungo's.

Teddy looks at the wireless in shock for what seems likes hours but are only a few seconds. His hands are in fists, the ring straining against his grip as he suddenly moves faster than he ever has before. He scribbles a letter to the portkey office in barely legible writing and quickly grabs a hold of the magic mirror his godfather had given him when he turned 11.

There is no one on the receiver's end.

"Dammit, dammit," Teddy yells, kicking the closest furniture he can find. The portkey would take at least half and hour...if not more. And he can't...He can't't be here, not it she might not...

Without giving it any thought, Teddy apparates.

* * *

 **"You** guys should just go," Harry speaks calmly. "Molly and Arthur aren't up to looking after 7 kids all by themselves, including two new born babies. And they're also worried."

"We just want to see her, dad," Al mutters, trying to keep any tears from falling.

"Al, James," Ginny tries. "Your not going to do much here and I can assure you that your sister won't want you seeing her this way."

"But what if..." James tries too.

Harry exhales and turned to Ginny. "Take the four of them to the burrow. Talk to your parents so they can send owls to the rest of the family...We're not doing a lot of anything here."

Ginny nods hesitantly. "You'll call me if..."

Harry holds up the coin he always has in his pocket. "It'll heat up in the moment that I hear news".

Ginny nods again hesitantly and leads both her sons towards the exit. They have only just left when a loud bang is heard from the apparation point. Harry walks a few steps to make sure the clutter hasn't been caused by any other Potter or Weasley. He's more that surprised when a very disheveled Teddy Lupin appears.

hasn't seen his godson in months but the shock doesn't just come because of seeing him, the biggest shock comes from his appearance. Before Harry, stands a man who looks a lot like his third year DADA teacher, except for the two sparkling black eyes that prove this is his godson. But Teddy looks old. He has laughter lines on his face and bags under his eyes. And his jaw and eyebrow hold two scars: the one in the jaw from when Teddy had decided to try out his new muggle bicycle on the staircase age 9 and the one on the eyebrow from one particularly hard missions on his fifth year of training.

This was, Harry realized, what his godson would always look like if he hadn't been a metamorfogus.

"Where is she?" a hysterical Teddy asks Harry, reaching down to catch his breath.

"Teddy, what are you...? How did you...?"

"Harry, Merlin, where is she? She's okay, right? Oh, damn it, she's not..."

Harry's completely shocked to see the state the young man was in. Teddy and Lily had always been awfully close, specially when Lily entered her teenage years but the man's worry seemed disorbited.

"She's out of danger, Teddy," Harry tries to calm him, being able to visibly see how Teddy's shoulders fall back and tears start to form in the 33-year-olds eyes.

The man falls into a nearby chair a sinks his face in his hands.

"She hasn't woken up yet and they're quite a bit worried about the extent of the damage to her head and back but she's not going anywhere, Ted..."

Another sob excapes the man and his godfather sits beside him, placing a hand on his back.

"I was hearing the match and they just started screaming all of a sudden and Lee even left the mike and started calling for St. Mungos and I didn't know..." an emotional Teddy tries to explain, between broken sobs.

Harry nods, understanding. "But I had no idea you were in England, Ted. Why hadn't you told any of us?"

Teddy looks at his godfather with a little guilt. "I was in New York," he states. "I tried to get across to you through the mirror and I sent a fire roll to the portkey department but I couldn't get through to anyone and I apparated.

"You what?" Harry asks, dumbfounded and not managing to avoid an angry tone in his voice.

"I did a scale...There are a few platforms and islands through the sea and I stopped through all the ones I knew."

"Ted, for Merlin's sake, you could have splinched yourself, or ended up in the middle of the sea or...Ted, you've basically run our of magic, look at you. You need to see a doctor!"

Teddy shakes his head vehemently. "No, no, I'm alright, Harry...I just, I just need to know she's okay."

Harry runs a hand through his hair but doesn't say more. He gets up and sends Teddy a look that clearly said " _stay here_ ".

Fifteen minutes later he appears with a replenishing potion and news that they'd be able to see Lily in a few hours.

* * *

 **"Playing** with men twice your size, its only natural..." Harry's lecture goes on while Lily and her mother share a knowing look.

Ginny keeps running her hand through her daughter's hair, so similar to her own and smiling.

"Are you even listening to me, Lily Luna?" Harry speaks up.

Lily looks at her dad. "Its a marvelous move, dad...I knew the bludger was coming and was ready to avoid it but you can't blame me for not thinking that retard would push his broom into my head. Its not really what you call fair play, is it?"

"You were really lucky today, Lil," Harry continues. "What if it had been worst? What if it had taken them longer to bring you here? Or if you had been hit elsewhere? Quidditch is too dangerous..."

"Harry I played Quidditch too, I'm still here..." Ginny ads, a little annoyed.

"You quit before anything could happen," Harry responds, just as effusively.

"I quit before I was a mother," Ginny rectifies a little angrily. "If Lily's not there yet and wants to enjoy her career a little more, who are you to say otherwise."

"Her father, maybe, and the only parent who seems to..."

But a small snore cut him of. Lily Luna had fallen asleep.

* * *

She twirls in her bed, almost forgetting where she wid until she opens one eye and sees the patched white ceiling of her hospital room.

The pain in her head also reminds her of the events of the day.

"You scared the dementors out of me today, Lil," a soft voice cuts through the silence in the room, surprising the red-head, who lifts her head only to see a shadow at her bedside. As she turns slightly the moon hits the face of the man and she gasps a little.

"You look old, Teddy-bear," is the first thing that comes to her mind. She hasn't talked to the man in two years, only having seen him once in that period of time, with that blond, blue-eyed gorgeous giraffe on his arm, and _that_ is the first thing she said to him. _Way to go, Lily._

"I'm sorry to tell you, you don't particularly look much better," is Teddy's response.

"An idiot hit me in the head with a firebolt and through me in the way of a bludger, what's your excuse?" Lily almost wants to cry at the normalcy of the situation. Speaking to him like always, like they were still them, like nothing had torn them apart.

"I apparated from New York to London, not as exiting but...Besides, I don't look old, I look 33, which happens to be how old I am."

Lily gaps at him, not quite believing his words. "Teddy, bloody Godric, you shouldn't have...I'm okay."

"You didn't sound okay. I was listening to the wireless...Lee went off the handle. It was too chaotic. It sounded worst...It looked worst for a while even here."

"You listen to my matches on the wireless?" she asks. That's all she has retained from his answer. She doesn't care about the accident. She doesn't care about Quidditch. He's here. Her Teddy is here, beside her, and he listened to her match from New York, where he had gone to forget her.

Teddy smils at the information she'd decides to concentrate on. "Every single one," he murmurs, looking at her and reaching out a hand on top of hers. She almost moans as she feels their skin touch, their magic reaching out to connect after all this time.

Curiously, it happens to be the hand where he had been keeping the ring all day long. Lily feels the metal against her skin immediately and turns her hand to find the simple dark ring. Her eyes open up and she feels something heavy drop in her stomach. She feels sick all of a sudden.

"Oh, Merlin, Teddy! Don't tell me I screwed up your proposal! Godric, I'm so sorry...I've got to tell Lee to stop being so overly dramatic. I can't believe...Does Evelin even know you're here?" Lily's fast speaking while she sits up and looks at Teddy with anguish, she hopes she pulls of the idea that shes shaken up for him and not because of him. It takes him a second to realize what she's saying...She thinks he has the ring to propose to Evelin.

"Oh, no, Lily...Evelin and me...Well, Evelin and me broke up, two weeks ago..." he announces and he almost laughs as he sees the sides of Lily's mouth curl up slowly, unconsciously, as much as she tries to prevent looking happy about it.

"Ah...I'm so sorry, Teddy, I didn't know. She...She looked pretty taken with you in August, we all thought she'd say yes to you in a heartbeat," Lily proclaims, now seeming more on the annoyed than relieved side. _How dare that annoyingly perfect witch hurt her Teddy? Didn't she know how amazing he was?_

Teddy nods. "She was...Umm...I didn't ask her. She found the ring in a desk drawer and thought it was for her. Started dropping hints repeatedly and finally confessed to having seen it."

"Thought it was for her?" the red-head inquires. Feeling like she's missing something.

Teddy runs a hand through his hair, turning the tips of it turquoise but only just slightly. His magic still isn't fully back.

"It was the ring I bought...Two years ago..." he confesses, alternating between looking at the ground and then into her eyes.

"Oh," the 23-year-old mutteres. Looking like she's thinking of something intelligent to say. "Doesn't it seem like its been longer?" she asked him, bravely. Softly too. Almost with love.

He noda. "I used to think about that...How we were together for a year and a half and that seemed to fly by like if it was only a few weeks, and yet it seemed like we'd been together forever. And then, all this time in the States. Sometimes it seemed like I'd spend whole days counting the seconds."

"Time flies by when you're having fun..." she dares to say. He looks like he wants to say something but doesn't quite know what so Lily decided it's her turn to take a stand. "I wouldn't mind the rest of my life flying by if it could always be like that. I wouldn't call it exactly fun," she says. "Just...You know, us. I wouldn't mind if time flew if we were being us."

Teddy gets braver to look into her eyes again. For a moment he feels a fear he hasn't felt in years, he imagined that seeing her this fragile might make him see her like a child again. Little Lily Luna Potter lying on the living room sofa with a scraped knee and a few pirate bandages resting on top of the scratch.

But he looks up and, sitting up, with the moon shinning on her face. She looks nothing short of perfection. Her hair's longer than when he'd last seen her, reaching past her shoulders and framing her white cheeks. Her pale but inviting lips rest below her small nose and her big brown eyes looking at him, trying to seem fearless. No one could say Lily Potter was a girl now, she was all woman, and what a woman.

"I don't think I can do this without you, Lily," he comes out in a breath.

"Do what?" she asks, leaning her hand forward to place on top of his again.

He looks at her. "Life. I...Before I thought it was you, now I know. Today, thinking you might...It's just not an option for me, Lil. Its you and me...And I know you're young and I know we're complicated. But I...I'll wait forever if I have to. I know it sounds lame and far too desperate, but I'm 33, I know what's out there...And all I want, all I need, is you."

Lily's almost too shocked to say anything. She has never seen him so vulnerable and it hurts to think she has caused this. She vows, here, in this precise moment, to stop hurting him, to not take advantage of knowing he will always be there. To sacrifice for him just like he's sacrificing himself for her.

"I...I'm sorry," she whispers, not knowing well where to start. However, the pause has led to Teddy's look of complete defeat. He thinks she's rejecting him. Yet again, Lily has hurt him without even wanting to. "Oh, Merlin, no, Teddy-Bear. Listen, I'm sorry for all I've put you through. I've been a fucking mess, Teddy. I went looking for you to fall for me, I got angry at you when you were just trying to be a good guy, I pushed you away when you wanted to give us a shot...Teddy, you've...You've always been the good guy here and I've completely messed us up. These two years have helped me see that so clearly...First I wanted you so badly, then when I had you I didn't want you completely. Can you ever forgive me for being so bloody selfish?"

Now it was Teddy's turn to be surprised. Just a few seconds ago he had reaffirmed his knowledge that Lily no longer had any trace of a child but the words she's speaking now almost don't sound like her. Lily is the youngest child, the only girl, she was conceited and a bit selfish, she had always been and he had learned to love her for her faults just as much as her virtues. But this woman, this gorgeous woman, asking for his forgiveness catches him totally of guard.

He stands up and Lily shuffles a bit so he can sit on the bed, which leaves them both at similar eye level. He reaches his hand up to touch her cheek and caresses her hair softly.

"You can't take all the blame either," he tells her, looking at her to shut of the protest she's about to voice. "We started this when you were seventeen years old...Really started it when you were twenty. No one's supposed to ask you to have it all figured out at that point. I thought for sure I would marry Victoire at 20, even at 22. And somehow, I conveniently forgot that, when I asked you to decide on forever without you even really know what career path you wanted to follow. Yes, you were selfish, and yes you have taken me for granted a few times...But, I've been yours since you first opened your eyes in that hospital cot Lily. It's taken me a while to be able to see that in the right light but its true...It's always been you and me above everyone else. And that doesn't make this wrong, that doesn't make this more difficult, it only makes me believe in destiny and in us. Above all, in us."

She leans forward into his touch and he shuffles closer.

"I'm still not sure I want to get married right now," she doubts out loud. "I know its you," she voices out with utmost sincerity. "I really do. But when we do it, I want to do it right, have dad walk me down the aisle and, as scary as it might seem now, I want to have kids, start trying in the wedding night and...As much as I know I want that know, I still think I need a year or two to wrap my head around the idea completely."

Teddy nodded. "That's perfect," he states.

Lily doubts. "Are you sure?" she asks.

"Is it me you see standing at the end of that aisle?" he askes seriously in return.

She nods. "I've never been able to see anyone else."

And with those words he brings her closer and locks his lips gently with hers, feeling as if he can finally breath well again after far too long. As the kiss continues gently. Loony starts pecking on the windows, causing the couple to separate for a second and let him in.

"Another letter, Mr. Lupin?" Lily mocks him.

He smiles and opens it. "I'd forgotten I sent it with all this mess. I was only telling you I was finally coming home and just the typical Christmas Eve blues."

Lily smiles and captured his lips in hers again, as the clock strikes twelve and the card, just like the one from the year before, explodes and chants the happy birthday to you muggle song that they hear every year. Teddy pulls back for a second, looking at her like she's a man's dying wish.

"Happy 24th, Lily."


	9. 9: 3033 - THE END

**A/N: Hi guys. Well, here is the last chapter. It's so sad/amazing to see this story finally finished. It's been exactly four years in the making and I had so much fun with it. I hope you guys did too. It's a shame this ship doesn't get all the recognition it deserves, since it has so much potential. But I hope other people will continue playing and developing it. Hope you enjoy the last chapter!**

* * *

 **24th December 2033**

A connection of unknown spells are being fired everywhere. Yellow, green and red light lights light up the afternoon sky while Edward Lupin and Harry Potter protect themselves behind a two meter rock.

"They're not going to stop, Harry!" Teddy shouts over of the exploding sounds that don't stop banging against their eardums. "There's no way to get out of here."

The mission had seemed simple, go to Westlane and approach a group of wizards that had been fighting on-and-off with another younger group. They had thought they were just gathering information from the group that had been victimized. As they reached them, they realized it had been _them_ who were abusing the others. They called themselves _Shaterers_ and they disguised their spells so it was impossible to counter them. Harry and Teddy had been caught in the middle of the fight and a few of the shaterers had taken it upon themselves to kill the two "nosey aurors".

"We need to bring down the anti-apparation wards!" Harry suggests, trying to throw a few spells from behind the rock, even hoping for a huge protecting spell to rise between the two groups, but he can't...Nothing could be perceived clearly in the battle.

"They've masked the spell and I can't break it, there's no way to get out, Harry! And there's too many of them to duel our way out. I can't even transform inside the perimeter."

Harry tries to concentrate for a second while Teddy fights to take a few more men out. "My bag! I left it in the front door of the house!"

Teddy stares at his godfather. "I rather think we have more important things to think about right now, Harry!"

"No...It has a portkey to Ginny. I use it in these kind of situations, it takes me wherever she is."

Teddy's eyes brighten up. "We can just summon it then!"

Harry shakes his head. "Only I can open it and it can't be summoned. It's too dangerous to allow just anyone to get to Ginny and the rest of potions and spells in that bag. I need to run to the house and fetch it," he yelled, getting up. Another spell wizes above his head and Teddy pushes him down quickly.

"Harry, you can't run to the house like this. They'd hit you and they're not exactly throwing kind curses out there," he protests.

"I'll cast an invisible charm on myself and run my fastest," Harry tries.

Teddy shakes his head. "You're 52 years old, Harry, you won't make it without being hit!"

The chosen-one now looks angry. "What do you suggest, then?"

Teddy turns again, this time concentrating on a body that's laying a few meters away. He summons it to them and then cloaks it with an invisibility spell. Harry looks at him curiously, but when he does, he doesn't see his godson. He sees the man that had been laying dead next to them a few seconds ago. It doesn't take Harry long to figure out the solution his godson has come up with.

"If you think for a second I'm going to let you..." Harry starts, but another explosion cuts him off.

"This one was a Shaterer, I'll just go behind them and the rest will protect me."

"There's no way I'm...!" Harry continues.

"It's the only way we can get out of here alive, Harry. It's only a matter of minutes until they find us. I'll run for the bag and then I'll see if I can find an alternate way through to here. If I can turn into my animagui when I get there and run faster, I'll be here in a minute."

"It's too dangerous, Teddy! I can't...If anything happened to you..." Harry tries to reason.

"I'm the best chance we have to get out of here," Teddy's voice broke a little. "And I have to get you out of here, Harry."

"If I can just..."

Teddy shushes him and reaches underneath his black t-shirt for something. He pulls on a chain, snapping it and producing a ring in front of Harry.

"What's..." a confused Harry starts babbling.

"Forgive me for doing this like this, I wanted this to be different but, if something happens to me..."

"Nothing's going to happen to you, Teddy!" Harry shouts through another exploding sound.

"I know!" Teddy roars back, pushing the ring into the man's hand. "But if it does, I need you to promise me that you'll give that to Lily...Tell her...Tell her it's always been for her and that I'm incredibly sorry I couldn't wait long enough. Tell her I will still wait a lifetime, even if its hers."

Harry's visibly shaking and even more confused. But before he can reply, another explosion is heard and Teddy gets up quickly, disappearing in a second.

* * *

 **"But** what if...?"

"Lily, please, sit down!" Ginny begs her only daughter as the younger woman paces around the living room.

"But they should've been here hours ago!"

"The whole Auror team is informed, Lily and it's only been an hour an a half," Ginny tries to remain calm.

"But their hands on the clock are facing danger!" the 24-year-old continues insisting. "How can you be so calm, what if something happens to them. What if...?"

Lily, just like her mother, tended to not be overly emotional, which makes it even more shocking to see tears start to fall out of her eyes.

Ginny stands up and wraps her arms around her youngest. She soothes her softly.

"I don't know if I can take this waiting around, feeling useless..." Lily speaks sadly. And Ginny raises her eyebrow.

"Honey, you've spent tons of night waiting for your dad to get back from an assignment and I assure you Teddy goes on just as many missions, he just doesn't keep us as posted..."

 _If only she knew how posted Teddy kept her,_ Lily thinks.

"I'm just..."

But her sentence is broken by the sound of the portkey arriving in the living room and a very disheveled and hurt Harry and Teddy arriving softly onto the floor.

Ginny's calm exterior changes in a second as she flies into Harry, crashing into him. Lily can't help but imitate her mum's movements and envelope Teddy in her own arms.

"I was so scared," she murmurs not even knowing if he can hear her.

"So was I," he answers back, breaking apart and raising a hand to her tear-striked cheek.

It only takes Lily a second to go into full healer mood but she starts healing Teddy's injuries quickly, taking advantage of the situation and touching him just a little more than she would a normal patient. She needs his contact right now.

When she's finished she goes to her dad, who has a numb look on his face, with his eyes directed at Teddy and her. Lily touches his arm with care and starts healing the scratches and gashes that he had attained. It is when she reaches his hand that she sees her future engagement ring sitting in her father's dirty palm.

"What is that doing...?" she starts asking, until she feels Teddy standing behind her, pressing his left arm into her shoulder.

"Is anything wrong with his head, Lily?" Harry asks in a cold tone he has never used to treat his godson.

Lily and Ginny look confused while Teddy just looks to the ground, defeated.

"Harry, I..." Teddy tries, but the man interrupts him.

"I asked my daughter a question, Ted, I'd like it if you let her answer."

Lily looks up at Teddy in search of an answer but her boyfriend doesn't break his eye contact with Harry, who in turn doesn't stop looking at Lily.

"What are you talking about, Harry?" Ginny inquires, more worried about her husband's mental health than Teddy's.

"He knows," Teddy mumbles, especially to Lily, whose eyes go wide and rapidly spark with fire.

"You couldn't wait a few hours?" she askes him, more worried than angry but still sounding a little more threatening than ideal.

"I thought I was dying, Lily, I wasn't precisely being rational!" he shoots back at her, leaving Harry even more angry and Ginny even more dumbfounded.

"What the hell are you three talking about? Has something happened?" Ginny tries to make sense of the situation, but Harry isn't precisely thinking about his wife right now.

"You can't be serious, Ted," he speaks in a low voice, now turning to look at his thirty-four year old godson. "You cannot be serious!"

"I'm so sorry, Harry, I really am, I..." Teddy tries, to no avail.

"She's a child!" the once boy-who-live shouts into the room.

"I am not a child, dad!" Lily shouts back, taking Teddy's hand in hers. "I haven't been a child for a very long time."

"Could someone care to...?" Ginny tries again but stops as she sees the linked hands in front of her. Adding it all together. "You're kidding" she simply states.

Lily looks down at their joined hands. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this, we wanted to talk to you calmly."

"There's nothing to talk about," Harry speaks in a hard tone. "This, whatever this is, it isn't happening." He holds up the ring Teddy had given him. "This is Tonks' engagement ring, Teddy! Are you off your rocker? Asking me to give it to my daughter?"

Teddy doesn't know how to articulate any words, it's like he was going back to the beginning of his relationship with Lily, when he felt guilty and like a perverted son of a bitch.

"Can we just all sit down, please? We need to talk...Teddy and I need to explain..."

"There's nothing to explain. I've already told you that this isn't happening..."

Lily fights the urge to roll her eyes and she tries looking to her mother for support, but the woman still seems to be digesting the information.

"Dad, this isn't something that's up for argument. Can we please sit down and talk?" Lily tries again, amazing herself at how she's keeping her cool.

Harry looks like he's gonna shout something again but a soothing hand on his shoulder from Ginny and a murmured "please, Harry," from Teddy, seem to make him a little more rational.

They sit down on opposite sofas carefully, as if trying to respect the tension that had started to build between them.

"Guys," Ginny Potter decides to take the calm approach. "You have got to realize this is not a good idea. Yes, you're both adults and, of course, we love both of you so much but...You're basically siblings, kids...You can't tell me this doesn't seem a little wrong in your eyes."

"Mum," Lily tries. "I've had a crush on Teddy since forth year. He's never been my brother..."

"Oh, Lil, we all have crazy crushes during our youth but you don't actually go after them," Ginny confesses, expecting to make her see reason. But considering her childhood crush was her husband, her statement wasn't taken too seriously by the members of the room. "What I mean is, there are certain things you can fantasize about but not go through with. I know, right now you're both adults and lonely and you might think you can work for each other but..." Ginny continues, but Lily decides it's time to give her a bit more insight.

"This isn't something we're thinking about, mum. It's...I just don't know how to explain this without you both getting angry..." Lily starts.

Teddy helps her out. "We understand why you're saying what your saying. And, it's true, it's why this has been so complicated between us. It's also why we've avoided telling you, we wanted to be completely sure we were it in for the long haul."

Harry tried his hardest to breathe calmly. "When you say you have avoided telling us...how long do you mean?"

Teddy and Lily look at each other, not knowing how to convey the truth.

"How much of this do you really want to know?" Lily asks clearly. "We're all adults here and we understand that you're our parents and want to know something as important as this but...To be honest, we know its just going to make you feel angry and hurt."

Ginny looks shocked. "You're scaring me, Lily," she speaks softly.

Lily and Teddy look down at the ground.

"I want to know," Harry speaks, his tone still hard. "I don't want any more lies coming from the two of you."

Teddy gulps but knows that, if they have any chance to make them understand, it's now.

"You know I only ever saw Lily as a little sister when she was a kid," he states with utmost sincerity. "I've always loved her to bits but we weren't around each other that much, we didn't even go to Hogwarts together any year. I think at some point between her forth or fifth year, she started being more a friend than a sister. She talked to me like equals, we would laugh together, we would just enjoy each others company...But, Merlin, you have to believe me when I tell you I always saw her in the most platonic way...Nothing else ever passed my mind."

"I'm probably more at fault than he is in that sense," Lily then confesses. "I _did_ see him as something else. He broke up with Vic and I suddenly started wondering if maybe when I was older he might ever like me too...But of course, he only saw me as little Lily Potter." Ginny couldn't help but remember a time that it had been her saying those words about Harry. "And I started dating Lorcan and, I've never told you this because I always thought it was pointless but, Lorcan wanted me to go on the 4 year trip with him, and he asked me to marry him..."

"But you were barely 18!" Harry says, feeling a sudden indignation by Luna's son.

"I know, dad," Lily agrees. "Which is pretty hypocritical of you to say since you agreed to Albus marrying at that age...but, I do agree with you though. That's why I declined and bat-boogied him for being an idiot. But well, when I told Teddy this that Christmas, when I turned 18...I think that might be the first time he ever cared what I did with any boy I was with."

"That's not true," Teddy defends. " I've always cared but, yeah, perhaps that was the first time it struck me you were an adult and could get married if you wanted to."

"And so..." Lily continues.

"You're not telling us you've been together for the past 8 years, are you?" Harry asks, feeling an inner turmoil develop as he waits for the answer. .

Teddy and Lily shook the heads fervently.

"It was just a pair of kisses," Teddy promises.

"Mostly my fault, anyway," Lily admits. "I played on Teddy's doubts. I knew he'd do anything for me and I took advantage of his caring and confused him."

Teddy caresses her hand. "It got more complicated later on. You know I went to look for her in Angola and when I found her, things just kept on getting messed up. I started to realized I was starting to have deep feelings for Lily but at the same time, she was still Lily, she was still the first baby I held by myself and the little midget I defended from her brothers when they were mean. And yet she was becoming this amazing, beautiful woman who I couldn't stand to think about with anyone else."

"Teddy's the man you started seeing after Dylan Corner isn't he?" Ginny asks, holding onto Harry's arm. "That was almost 5 years ago, Lily."

Harry runs a hand through his hair. "You were in the States up to last year, Teddy. And, Evelin...What was Evelin, then? A ploy so we wouldn't suspect?"

Lily exhales, trying to make sense of all of this for them. Teddy takes the lead this time. "Lily and I were together for a year and a half more a less. We were going to tell you, we had actually planned to 3 years ago, on the Christmas Eve when we had to rush Alice to St. Mungos. But...Well, I had wanted to propose, Lily figured it out and..."

"I broke things of," she tells them. "I wasn't ready then, I had just gotten the offer for the Harpies and everything started being too much. We'd...Well, we'd had a scare and I saw my career and my young years flashed down the drain so quickly that I freaked out. We were going to tell you...But everything broke apart and there was just no point anymore."

"And that's why you left for the States," Harry realizes.

"That's why I left...I couldn't stand being here when I wasn't with her..." Teddy admits. "And Evelin, poor Evelin was just me trying to move on and failing miserably. She found the ring your holding, Harry, and she thought it was for her...I almost went through with it. I really did. But in the end I knew it was pointless. I'm 35-years-old and thanks to that I've lived enough to know there is only one person in this world who can truly make you happy. And that's Lily for me." Teddy tries to explain.

"We got back together last year, after the accident. Everything seems to happen to us on my birthday..." she jokes slightly. "We've been trying to tell you for a while but, with dad trying to fit in as many missions as possible before his upgrade to senior head and Mum writing the book, we've barely even been around the two of you together."

"We did try in April, on my birthday" Teddy recalls. "But Albus announced the next pregnancy and Hugo announced his wedding and, we didn't want to take away the spotlight."

"Besides, we have been dreading your reaction for 6 years, in the end...we'd built up quite a wall. But we swear we were going to tell you today," Lily promises. "Teddy's going to propose tomorrow and he wants Dad's permission."

"You're not supposed to know that," Teddy mutters.

She doesn't want to appear too buttery in front of her shocked parents but she can't help her smile as she says. "I know you too well, Lupin."

Harry and Ginny still haven't said anything. It looks like both of them were deep in thought.

"We know it's a shock and we totally understand the anger...We'd kill our future kid and god whatever if they pulled this on us. But we're happy," Lily makes an attempt to convey. "We're extremely happy and finally in a really good place and we'd love it if we had your blessing."

Harry stands up slowly, walking towards the back of the sofa and then turning around.

"We can understand love," he begins speaking. "And I'm glad you've both finally found it. And don't doubt for a second that I'm always going to think that no one will deserve any of you...So it does seem fitting to find you deserve each other. But...what kind of relationship do you have? One based on lies and messing around and being everything that adults are not supposed to be. I don't give a rat's arse about any age difference or even how this borders on an incestual relationship...But I am not giving my blessing to two people who have just proved they cannot be trusted to act like adults."

Having said that he turns on his heal and leave the living room, walking to the kitchen.

Ginny remains on the sofa, looking at them.

"You should have said something," she tells them. "Anything...but, 8 years of lies? We...Harry...He was lied to his whole life. By his uncle and aunt, by Dumbledore...He thought that had ended. And then, two of the four people he holds at the very highest of his loved ones, have just proved to him the lies don't stop."

They both look down guiltily. Teddy looks even more affected than Lily, if that is possible, but it's easy to understand why. Thanks to Harry, he had been able to live a full life, nothing like the one his godfather had. And then he had gone a backstabbed him in the worst way.

"I don't...I'm not sure how we're going to get used to the idea of you two but...I'm very glad to know you're finally truly happy."

Having said that, she stands up and walks to the kitchen, where her husband is looking out at the porch, towards the swing he built there when Ginny was pregnant with James.

"Remember when we told my parents we were together?" Ginny asks Harry as she puts her arms around his back.

Harry doesn't answer, he just turns around and looks at his wife with seriousness. "You can't be okay with this."

Ginny bites her lip. "Think, Harry. Think about how happy they both have been this year and, if you think about it, they were also in a great place before Teddy left for the States. It hadn't crossed my mind to relate their happiness to each other but...They're obviously happy and we shouldn't stand in the way of that."

"I told your dad I was seeing you before I had even slept with you, Ginny...You heard then, they had a scare. We could have found out about this with a grandchild on the way. It's not just a terrible lack of respect, it's also proof they're not ready for any kind of commitment." Harry states.

"Hey...Listen...I'm not defending them. I just understand them. Lily's young, she wasn't sure what she wanted...She wanted to play the field and be sure before she entered the commitment that telling us would have meant." Ginny tries to make him understand.

"Yeah, you would know all about that..." Harry spits at her, making Ginny raise her eyebrows.

"You promised that discussion was over," Ginny speaks in a low voice, not quite believing Harry was taking advantage of this situation to go back to an old fight. "Don't go bringing skeletons of the past into the present, Harry."

"I'm just saying, of course you'd understand...You never told your parents about Max, did you? Just went off with him, no care in the world, while dumb Harry waited for you to make up your mind."

"Harry, this is stupid...You're just angry and you want to pick a fight..."

"Or maybe I've just realized you seem to think that what you did with me was the wrong move and what you did with him was the right way to go about things..." Harry mutters angrily.

"It was two bloody months Harry, 30 years ago, when my brother, my best friend and my home were destroyed. And my bloody ex-boyfriend who had dumped me, I remind you, could only talk about the future, and beautiful houses and careers!"

...

"And my bloody ex-boyfriend..."

Ginny's voice carries through the house loudly, reaching the two other occupants.

"They're not even fighting about us," Lily mutters, annoyed.

Teddy looks down and Lily brushes a hand through his locks. His hair doesn't change colour.

"Hey," she speaks softly, making him look up. "We're their kids, Teddy. They're not going to be mad forever, it's just the initial shock."

Teddy nods. "He's given me so much..." he whispers. "To pay him back like this..."

"Like what?" Lily asks. "You've made his youngest child happier than she could have ever been with anyone else, you'll probably give him the cutest hair-changing grandchildren. He gave you a family and now you're giving him family...I don't know much better you can repay him."

As she says that two portkeys appeared in the living room, surrounded by two families. Suddenly 4 more adults and 8 grandchildren appeared in the living room.

* * *

"I waited while you were off with him, 'enjoying freedom', lying and living without responsibility...Exactly what Teddy and Lily have been doing. So it turns out that's the way to go...Maybe you should give Max a call, he might like to know you chose wrong all those years ago."

Ginny is about to answer back when Albus interrupts them, coming into the kitchen with a 1 month old Neville in his arms. "What about keeping the shouting to a minimum so the tiny one doesn't wake up."

Ginny smiles and takes her youngest grandson in his arms. "6 kids at 27, Al. Please tell me you'll give Aly a break after this..."

Albus laughs softly, "We promise, we'll wait until Lily's first before we go looking for another one. But you know sometimes they just come...and, we've got the means to give them everything, don't we?"

"Yeah..." Harry mutters, looking at the tiny baby. "Just wait till they're older and they stab you in the back."

"Dad!" "Harry" both Al and Ginny admonish respectively, at the same time.

"It's been a complicated ride for them, dad," Albus tells Harry. "They've never meant to lie. It just isn't easy working things out sometimes and you want to avoid hurting the people you love."

"Since when do _you_ know?" Harry asks angrily.

"I figured it out the first time they were together...I, I'm good at seeing this kind of thing. And Lily had been so into him since half way through Hogwarts...And she's Lily, after all, and when does Lily not get what she want?"

"That makes me sound awfully spoiled," Lily adds carefully as James, Teddy and her entered the kitchen, having left Sarah, Alice and the Potter's paid house-elf, Twixie, with the kids.

Albus looks at her with a smile that tellls her she is _exactly_ that.

"Don't fight," Lily begs her parents. "Not on my-our account."

Harry looks to James. "You know too?"

James runs a hand through his hair. "Caught them at it last March in the Burrow's laundry room."

"James!" Albus, Lily and Teddy yells and the oldest Potter kid, making Neville stir in his grandmother's arms.

Harry Potter was definitely hearing too many things he did not need to hear today.

"It's a wonder you hadn't caught them before, with your track record," Harry dares to half-joke. Making all the eyes in the room light up with hope that they could still have a peaceful Christmas Eve dinner. As peaceful as it could be with 8 kids under 7 in the house, of course. "Who else knows?" Harry asks.

Teddy and Luna look at each other.

"Albus, James, and Sarah and Alice obviously," Lily starts. "Dominique and Hugo know and so does Roxanne and two Harpies who also saw us."

"And Victoire and Lorcan," Teddy recalls their exes. "And we told my grandmother last month when it looked like she would...Well, she promised to keep quiet when she started feeling better again."

"And now you two," Lily adds, trying to light up the situation. Harry didn't find it too funny.

"Al, take Neville and James outside please," Harry tells his son.

James protests at being asked out by his "baby brother" but follows anyway, leaving the four adults alone again.

"You didn't do things right," Harry tells them both. "And I really don't understand how this is going to work between you with how you've kept it going all this time but...I hope you can show us that you really do belong together."

Lily smiles, moving towards her father and envelopes him in a small tight hug. She laughs and spins around, ready to go back to her nieces and nephews. She stops when she sees Teddy isn't following her. He smiles and signals for her to go on.

As she leaves through the door, Harry reaches for his pocket and takes out the ring, placing it in Teddy's hand.

"I'd tell you to wait because it's too soon, but I can guess you've already been waiting for a while."

Teddy nods. "I'd wait a lifetime, though." he confesses.

And Harry offers him a nod that symbolized everything he wants to say to the boy that he'd taken into his arms the day after life gave him a second opportunity, while he promised to give him everything he had never had.

Teddy moves out and Ginny follows, but Harry calls for her.

"I'm going to get a few hours of bat-boogies for this tomorrow, aren't I?"

Ginny gives him a half-smile. "And a long talk about going on missions when you're too old to fit into your auror suit anymore."

Harry nods and they both walk out.

* * *

 **"Didn't** work out so bad in the end, did it?" Lily said, as she walks out of the house and sits next to her boyfriend on the porch swing.

"Your dad can't quite look me in the eyes but...No, it wasn't so bad," he smiles.

"I love you," Lily whispers in his ear. "I'm going to love you forever."

Teddy takes her hand and presses his forehead against hers. "I love you too. More than anything."

Lily smiles and gets up from the bench, looking through the window where the whole family is laying on the sofas, most of the kids already asleep out of there beds and cots.

"In the end we've gone back to having a huge number of family here for my birthday...Well, my dad does always says that I'm..."

"...the best Christmas present he will ever get," they both speak in unison, smiling while they both get a strange sense of dèjá vu. They're both standing in front of the door now, Teddy with his back to it and Lily standing opposite him. For a few seconds they stand in silence until Teddy tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and admires her. She's only wearing a pair of jeans and last years Weasley sweater under a big blue coat, but Teddy can't help but admire her.

"You look gorgeous tonight, Lily," he tells her without moving his hand away from her red hair. She looks so natural, so happy...That he just feels like it would be a crime not to kiss her when she's looking up at him with those big brown eyes; so he leans down and places his lips softly over hers.

Their lips have barely even touched when one of them gives the other a small electric shock that makes them both jump backwards. They both look at each other and can't help but burst out laughing at how uncommon the situation is.

"Oh!" Teddy exclaims as he brings his hand into his pocket and picks something out. "You make it impossible to surprise you but...Will you at least finally let it take its proper place?" he asks as he places the ring in her hand.

She smiles and reaches out for it. As she does, the inscription inside it sparkles slightly. She realizes it's magical as the words appear while she reads. "The smallest shock can open up a world of possibilities. LT," Lily reads out loud. She smiles and puts the ring on while she says. "That it can, Teddy-Bear, that it can."

And with that she flies at him, pressing him to her and kissing him in that way that she only kisses him. With everything she has. With everything they both have.

The clock strikes midnight and they both stay there, oblivious, while the old clock is chiming and the happy-birthday-to-you Muggle song that the clock has always made on these especial days, makes its way to their ears.

Teddy steps back and looks at her with his eyes full of hope and future. With everything that is now completely there's.

"Happy Birthday, Lily,"

* * *

THE END

 ** _A/N: Once again, thanks a million guys. Please, please, please REVIEW. To let me know what you thought about the chapter, the story as a whole. And specially, if you enjoyed it...Remember the more reviews a story has, the more people tend to read it...Share this story with other people by reviewing :D_**


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